Structural Characterization of Emeraldine-Salt Polyaniline/Gold Nanoparticles Complexes

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) stabilized with polyamidoamine dendrimers (Au-PAMAM) or sodium citrate (Au-CITRATE) were synthesized and complexed with polyaniline emeraldine-salt form (ES-PANI). The complexes were characterized using structural and morphological techniques, including X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Zeta Potential analyses, and Fourier-Transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). When the Au-CITRATE NPs are added to the polymeric solution, the formation of a precipitate is clearly observed. The precipitate exhibited a different morphology from that found for ES-PANI and Au-CITRATE NPs, suggesting the formation of ES-PANI coating over the surface of Au-CITRATE NPs. On the other hand, when the Au-PAMAM NPs are incorporated into the ES-PANI solution, none interaction was observed, probably due to the repulsive electrostatic interactions, being the organization of the ES-PANI chains unaffected by the presence of the Au-PAMAM NPs.