in situ polymerization of aniline was carried out in the presence of fly ash (FA) to synthesize polyaniline/fly ash (PANI/FA) composites. The PANI/FA composites have been synthesized with various compositions (15, 20, 30 and 40 wt%) of FA in PANI. The composites, thus synthesized have been characterized by infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The morphology of these samples was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Further the a.c. conductivity of these composites have been investigated in the frequency range 10²–10⁶ Hz. The presence of polarons and bipolarons are made responsible for frequency dependence of a.c. conductivity in these composites. The Cole–Cole plots indicate clear shift in the distribution of relaxation times as the wt% of FA in PANI changes. These composites show almost symmetric semicircles of Cole–Cole plots indicating the Debye-type relaxation in their polarization response.

in situ polymerization of pyrrole was carried out in the presence of fly ash (FA) to synthesize polypyrrole–fly ash composites (PPy/FA) by chemical oxidation method. The PPy/FA composites have been synthesized with various compositions (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 wt%) of fly ash in pyrrole. The surface morphology of these composites was studied with scanning electron micrograph (SEM). The polypyrrole–fly ash composites were also characterized by employing X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The a.c. conductivity behaviour has been investigated in the frequency range 10²–10⁶ Hz. The d.c. conductivity was studied in the temperature range from 40–200°C. The dimensions of fly ash in the matrix have a greater influence on the observed conductivity values. The results obtained for these composites are of greater scientific and technological interest.

Conducting polyaniline/𝛾-Fe₂O₃ (PANI/FE) composites have been synthesized using an in situ deposition technique by placing fine-graded 𝛾-Fe₂O₃ in a polymerization mixture of aniline. The composites are characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The electrical properties such as d.c. and a.c. conductivities are studied by sandwitching the pellets of these composites between the silver electrodes. It is observed that the conductivity increases up to a composition of 20 wt.% of 𝛾-Fe₂O₃ in polyaniline and decreases thereafter. The initial increase in conductivity is attributed to the extended chain length of polyaniline, where polarons possess sufficient energy to hop between favourable sites. Beyond 20 wt.% of 𝛾-Fe₂O₃ in polyaniline, the blocking of charge carrier hop occurs, reducing conductivity values. The magnetic properties such as hysteresis characteristics and normalized a.c. susceptibility are also measured, which show a strong dependence on content of 𝛾-Fe₂O₃ in polyaniline. Because of superparamagnetic behaviour of these composites, they may find extensive technological applications, especially for absorbing and shielding applications in microwave frequencies.