Novel hyper branched polyaniline nanocomposites for gamma radiation dosimetry

Novel hyperbranched poly aniline nanocomposites have been successfully prepared. Aniline monomer has been polymerized in presence of Mn⁺² ions and/or mixed Mn⁺²/Zn⁺² ions under high shearing effect homogenizer at 10,000 rpm. The prepared nanocomposites have been characterized via scanning electron microscopy SEM, transmission electron microscopy TEM, UV–Visible spectrometry UV–VIS, gel permeation chromatography GPC, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy FT-IR and thermo gravimetric analysis TGA. The morphological studies revealed that the nanocomposites have superior morphologies and are highly branched. The optical as well as electrical properties of the formed nanocomposites have been investigated. The ac conductivity measurements showed that the conductivities of the prepared nanocomposites are frequency dependent and follow up hopping conduction mechanism. Furthermore, the formed nanocomposites in the form of powder have been incorporated into polymethyl methacrylate PMMA matrix to form transparent sheets or films with light green color for dosimetric applications. The formed sheets or films have been exposed to different gamma radiation doses ranging from 20 to 200 kGy. Upon irradiation by different doses, the films showed visually a change in color and became darker. These color changes have been measured via UV–VIS spectrometry in transmission mode as a function of gamma irradiation dose. Structural changes upon irradiation have been also investigated via X-ray diffraction as a function of gamma radiation dose. As far as we know, these novel highly branched PANI nanocomposites have not been reported yet in the open literature nor their applications in the field of gamma radiation dosimetry.