Facile green strategy for micro/nano structured conducting polyaniline-clay nanocomposite via template polymerization using amphiphilic dopant, 3-pentadecyl phenol 4-sulphonic acid

Abstract

Novel self-assembled nano/micro structured conducting PANICN was prepared by in situ intercalative emulsion polymerization of aniline in aqueous dispersion of clay using bifunctional amphiphilic dopant, 3-pentadecyl phenol-4-sulphonic acid (PDPSA) derivable from renewable resource. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies revealed the formation of monolayer of protonated PANI intercalated nanoclays with template polymerized self-assembled micro/nanostructured protonated PANI. Nano/mirostructured PANIs were formed by the supra molecualar self-assembling of the inter-chain hydrogen bonding, inter-plane phenyl stacking and electrostatic layer by layer self-assembling (ELBS) between polarized alkyl chains present dopant anions and were manifested using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. On the basis of the results, structure-directing effect of 'anilinium salt micelle' was schematically illustrated in this article.