Polypyrrole Encapsulated Nickel Nanorods for Conductivity Improvement by Magnetic Alignment

Polypyrrole encapsulated nickel nanorods (PPy@Ni) have been prepared by electro-polymerization using Ni nanorods as template. PPy@Ni were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectrometer, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The maximum saturation magnetization of PPy@Ni was up to 44.6 emu g^-1. Further, PPy@Ni was used as the additive for the conductivity improvement in polymer matrix. Experimental results showed that the electric conductivity reached 1.8×10^-3 S m^-1 when 5% PPy@Ni was added in the poly(urethane acrylate) matrix by applying a magnetic field. Further tests showed that when the additive concentration increased from 0.1% to 5%, the correspondence saturation magnetization increased from 15.1 emug^-1 to 31.3 emug^-1. This work provides new light on controllable fabrication of conducting polymer by adding magnetic alignment conductive additives.