Synthesis of Villi-Structured Polyaniline Sheets Using Organic Single Crystal Surface-Induced Polymerization

Villi-structured polyaniline sheets (VPASs) were synthesized by the organic single-crystal surface-induced polymerization (OCSP) method using sodium decanesulfonate as a template. Aniline hydrochloride is used as a monomer instead of aniline to improve the electrostatic interaction between monomers and hydrated crystals, which reveals that the mechanism of OCSP occurs from the electrostatic force between positively charged monomers and the negatively charged surface of hydrated crystals. Compared with conventional polyaniline (3.13 × 10^-2 S/cm), VPASs showed higher electrical conductivity (1.07 × 10^-1 S/cm). The thickness of double-layered VPASs is about 136 nm, and the surface of VPASs shows a random porous structure with a villi-like morphology. This morphological property provides a large surface area, which can be advantageous to various electrochemical applications. The process yields mass-producible inexpensive materials, and the products are suitable for flexible devices because of their characteristic morphology.