Synthesis of novel poly 4,4″-diaminodiphenyl sulphone-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites for better electrochemical capacitance

A novel poly 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulphone (PDDS)–Fe₂O₃ nanocomposite was synthesized from 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulphone in presence of iron oxide nanoparticles by oxidation polymerization using potassium perdisulphate. The solubility performance of PDDS-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites exposed better solubility with chloroform, trichloroethylene, N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO). Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analyses showed mixed granular nature of the PDDS-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites. Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDAX) analysis confirmed the presence of iron oxide nanoparticles in the composites. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed the formation of highly crystalline PDDS-Fe₂O₃ with ~40-nm size of crystallites. A single absorption peak observed at around 3450 cm^-1 is due to the N–H stretching vibration of the imino groups of PDDS-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites, and it has revealed the participation of N–H group in the polymerization process. The conductivity of the PDDS-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites was determined to be 7.14 × 10^-2 S cm^-1. The observed capacitance value (256 ± 5 μF) of chemically synthesized PDDS-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites has proven their promising application as an energy storage material.