Fabrication of poly(aniline-co-pyrrole) hollow nanospheres with Triton X-100 micelles as templates

A one-step route has been reported for the fabrication of poly(aniline-co-pyrrole) (PACP) copolymer hollow nanospheres via the oxidation polymerization of a mixture of aniline and pyrrole in the presence of Triton X-100. It was found that the variations in polymerization conditions, such as the concentrations of Triton X-100 and comonomers, and [pyrrole]/[aniline] molar ratios, could change the size and uniformity of copolymer hollow nanospheres. The result of DLS has attested the presence of the spherical Triton X-100 micelles swelled by the comonomers in reaction system, and such micelles might play template for the formation of hollow nanospheres, followed by developing a possible formation mechanism. The chemical structures and crystallinity of products were characterized by FTIR, UV-visible, H-1 NMR spectra, and XRD patterns, respectively, to prove the copolymer chemical structures of hollow nanospheres. The thermal-stability and solubility of PACP were improved compared with homopolymers (polyaniline and pyrrole). (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.