Preparation and characterization of pyrrole/aniline copolymer nanofibrils using the template-synthesis method

Copolymer nanofibrils composed of pyrrole and aniline had been prepared by synthesizing the desired polymer within the pores of microporous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template membrane. To analyze their structure and properties, FTIR spectra were taken and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was applied. Also, the copolymer nanofibrils were photographed under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for microstructure analysis, and the conductivities were obtained by the four-probe method. The result of SEM and TEM revealed that the obtained copolymer nanofibrils had uniform and well-aligned array, and their diameter and length can be controlled by changing the aspect ratios of the AAO membrane. The result of IR spectrometry and TGA indicated that both polypyrrole and polyaniline were involved in the copolymer. The obtained nanofibrils were identified to be copolymer rather than composite. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.