Porous membrane controlled polymerization of nanofibers of polyaniline and its derivatives

Abstract

A novel, simple, and scalable technique to control the formation of the nanofibers of polyaniline and its derivatives via porous membrane controlled polymerization (PMCP) is reported. Through appropriate synthesis conditions, there are nearly 100% nanofibers formed with diameters tunable from 20nm to 250nm via the selection of pore diameter, monomer, counterions, and polymerization conditions. The nanofiber lengths vary from sub-micrometre to several micrometres. A single nanofiber can be easily isolated from the agglomeration. X-Ray diffraction patterns show that doped polyaniline nanofibers are substantially crystalline.