Highly conducting 1-D polypyrrole prepared in the presence of safranin

A facile preparation of a conducting one-dimensional polypyrrole nanostructure (1-D PPy) was achieved in the presence of safranin dye. The polymerization temperature has a significant effect on the conductivity, specific surface area and morphology of PPy. A decrease in the polymerization temperature leads to a significant increase in the conductivity. The highest conductivity was obtained by frozen polymerization (-24 degrees C) with a value of 175 +/- 4 and 23.7 +/- 2.9 S cm(-1)for 1-D PPy and globular PPy, respectively. The temperature dependence of the conductivity of 1-D PPy prepared at -24 degrees C revealed a semiconducting behaviour with a 3-D variable range hopping charge transfer mechanism. Raman spectroscopy results suggested that the high conductivity can be attributed to the high protonation level of 1-D PPy. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has been used to study the chemical structure of 1-D PPy and the incorporation of safranin into the polymer matrix.