2D Confined-Space Assisted Growth of Molecular-Level-Thick Polypyrrole Sheets with High Conductivity and Transparency

Herein, the use of a 2D soft template system composed of hundred-nanometer-thick water/ethanol mixed layers sandwiched by lamellar bilayer membranes of a self-assembled amphiphilic molecule to produce ultrathin polyprrole (PPy) with a uniform thickness as thin as 3.8 nm and with large dimensions (>2 μm(2)) is presented. The obtained PPy nanosheets exhibit regioregularity with ordered chain alignment where the polymer chains in the nanosheets produced are well aligned with a clear interchain spacing as confirmed by small-angle X-ray scattering measurement. The molecular-level-thick PPy nanosheets exhibit extremely high conductivity up to 1330 S m(-1), thanks to the ordered alignment of polymer chains in the nanosheets, and a high transparency in both the visible region (transmittance >99%) and near-infrared region (transmittance >93%).