Polyaniline Nanofibers: Facile Synthesis and Chemical Sensors

Polyaniline is a conducting polymer that has been widely studied for electronic and optical applications.1 Unlike other conjugated polymers, polyaniline has a simple and reversible acid/base doping/ dedoping chemistry enabling control over properties such as free-volume2, solubility3, electrical conductivity,4 and optical activity.5,6 In recent years, one-dimensional (1-D) polyaniline nanostructures, including nanowires, rods, and tubes have been studied with the expectation that such materials will possess the advantages of both low-dimensional systems and organic conductors. Syntheses of polyaniline 1-D nanostructures have been carried out both chemically and electrochemically by polymerizing the monomer with the aid of either a “hard ” or a “soft ” template. Examples of hard templates include zeolite channels,7 track-etched polycarbonate8,9 and anodized alumina.8,10 Soft templates, such as surfactants,11 micelles,12-14 liquid crystals,15 thiolated cyclodex