Synthesis and characterization of conducting polyaniline 5-sulfosalicylate nanotubes

Conducting polyaniline 5-sulfosalicylate nanotubes and nanorods were synthesized by the template-free oxidative polymerization of aniline in aqueous solution of 5-sulfosalicylic acid, using ammonium peroxydisulfate as an oxidant. The effect of the molar ratio of 5-sulfosalicylic acid to aniline on the molecular structure, molecular weight distribution, morphology, and conductivity of polyaniline 5-sulfosalicylate was investigated. The nanotubes, which have a typical outer diameter of 100-250 nm, with an inner diameter of 10-60 nm, and a length extending from 0.4 to 1.5 microm, and the nanorods, with a diameter of 80-110 nm and a length of 0.5-0.7 microm, were observed by scanning and transmission electron microscopies. The presence of branched structures and phenazine units besides the ordinary polyaniline structural features was revealed by infrared and Raman spectroscopies. The stacking of low-molecular-weight substituted phenazines appears to play a major role in the formation of polyaniline nanorods. The precipitation-dissolution of oligoaniline templates as a key element in the formation of polyaniline nanotubes is proposed to explain the crucial influence of the initial pH of the reaction mixture and its decrease during the course of polymerization.