Journal of Applied Chemical Science International

Poly (2-methoxy aniline-co-2-chloro aniline)  was synthesized by both emulsion and oxidative polymerization methods and named as poly (OMA-co-OCA)-1) and poly(OMA-co-OCA)-2  respectively and poly (2-methoxy aniline-co--2-chloro aniline)-composite-clay (poly (OMA-co-OCA)/clay) was synthesized by emulsion polymerization method using K₂Cr₂O₇ as oxidant, sodium lauryl sulphate as surfactant and HCl as dopant. The synthesized copolymer and its composite were characterized by FTIR, UV- visible, TGA-DTA, XRD and ¹H NMR. The dc-ac electrical conductivity was studied using the four point probe method. Poly (OMA-co-OCA)-2 has greater conductivity than poly (OMA-co-OCA)-1. The dielectric spectra and dielectric loss spectra illustrate the capacitance behavior.  The copolymer and the composite are found to be semiconducting and the copolymer composite has higher conductivity than the copolymer. The △E_ac as calculated from Arrhenius plot is the lowest in poly (OMA-co-OCA)-2. The rate of polymerization and the electron hopping mechanism are discussed.