Synthesis of conducting polymer colloids, hollow nanoparticles, and nanofibers

Colloidal polypyrrole and polyaniline stabilized by anionic surfactants were prepared and characterized. A "pseudo-micelle" model has been proposed. The aggregation of pseudo-micelles on the forming polymer chains is believed to be the key step in the stabilization process. Only when the aggregation is possible and fast enough to follow the polymer formation, will the polymer be stabilized.Colloidal polypyrrole and polyaniline were prepared in the presence of the sodium salt of poly(styrene sulfonate). The polymerization is believed to follow a template-guided fashion in which poly(styrene sulfonate) functions as a molecular template for pyrrole and aniline polymerization. The stability and water solubility of the colloids are attributed to the presence of excess poly(styrene sulfonate) sulfonate groups in the resulting complexes.It was found that the chemical polymerization of pyrrole is catalyzed by anionic surfactants and polyelectrolytes. The catalysis is believed to arise from the accumulation of protons, neutral pyrrole monomer and oligomers, and their radical cations in the micellar or polyelectrolyte pseudophase via electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. Nucleation was found to be a necessary and important step in the chemical polymerization of conducting polyaniline and polypyrole. A nucleation process has been proposed. A polyaniline-polypyrrole graft- or block-copolymer was produced by adding colloidal PANI to a similar amount of pyrrole.Hollow conducting polypyrrole nanoparticles with diameters of ca. 140 nm or 60 nm and wall thicknesses of ca. 10 nm were fabricated. The shape and size of the hollow particles are determined by the core particles and the wall thickness is controlled by reaction conditions. A $ gamma$-Fe$ rm sb2O sb3$-polypyrrole composite possessing both magnetic and electrically conductive properties was also produced.Polypyrrole and polyaniline nanofibers with highly uniform diameters between 10 and 50 nm were fabricated via the templating by lipid microstructures. The hydrophobic edges of the lipid microstructures function as the template. The polymer thickness is readily controlled by the polymerization time. Well-defined conducting polymer nano-rings were also produced.Finally, the sensitivity enhancement of the electroanalysis of halides through the accumulation of trihalides in an overoxidized polypyrrole film was presented. This reveals a new method of using polymer-modified electrodes in electroanalysis, and we term the accumulation of a reaction product "product concentration"