Fabrication of Polyaniline Nanoparticles Using Microemulsion Polymerization

Abstract

Polyaniline (PANI) nanospheres, 4 nm in diameter, were fabricated by the microemulsion polymerization of octyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (OTAB). The size of the PANI nanoparticles could be controlled as functions of the surfactant concentration, surfactant spacer length and polymerization temperature. The diameter of the PANI nanospheres decreased with increasing surfactant concentration and decreasing temperature. The PANI nanoparticles revealed enhanced conductivity compared to conventional bulk PANIs. In addition, the PANI nanoparticles could be applied as optically transparent conducting materials due to their high conductivity and the nanosize effect. With 9 wt% PANI in the PC matrix, the PANI/PC film exhibited a conductivity of 8.9 × 10-3 S/cm and transparency exceeding 95% over the entire visible light range.