A General Chemical Route to Polyaniline Nanofibers

TLDR

Polyaniline nanofibers can be formed uniformly via interfacial polymerization without templates or dopants. The study characterizes the fibers by measuring molecular weight, optical spectra, and electrical conductivity. The fibers’ diameter can be tuned from 30 nm (hydrochloric acid) to 120 nm (perchloric acid) or 50 nm with camphorsulfonic acid, and smaller diameters yield higher BET surface area, while the process scales to bulk production.

Abstract

Uniform polyaniline nanofibers readily form using interfacial polymerization without the need for templates or functional dopants. The average diameter of the nanofibers can be tuned from 30 nm using hydrochloric acid to 120 nm using perchloric acid as observed via both scanning and transmission electron microscopy. When camphorsulfonic acid is employed, 50 nm average diameter fibers form. The measured Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area of the nanofibers increases as the average diameter decreases. Further characterization including molecular weight, optical spectroscopy, and electrical conductivity are presented. Interfacial polymerization is shown to be readily scalable to produce bulk quantities of nanofibers.