A new synthetic route to enhance polyaniline assembly on carbon nanotubes in tubular composites

Abstract

In tubular nanocomposites prepared from carbon nanotubes and polyaniline, carbon nanotubes can improve the structural ordering, compactness, delocalization of charges and carrier mobility. Such properties are very much critical in the case of organic semiconducting materials for electronics applications. In this paper we describe the synthesis of a nanotubular composite of polyaniline and carbon nanotube using p-phenylenediamine functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes. This functionalization helped to disperse the nanotubes well in acidic solution. The in situ polymerization of aniline in the presence of these well dispersed nanotubes gave rise to a new tubular composite of carbon nanotubes having a uniform encapsulation of doped polyaniline. It also improved the structural order, molecular packing and delocalization of the charges in the material.