Polyaniline nano structures tuning with oxidants in interfacial polymerization system

Three kinds of nanostructured polyanilines (PANIs) were prepared through interfacial polymerization by using ammonium persulfate (APS) as a single oxidant, and APS/FeCl3, APS/K2Cr2O7 as composite oxidants, respectively. It is observed that faster formation process and higher yield of nanostructured PANIs could be achieved in the presence of FeCl3 and K2Cr2O7. The as-prepared PANIs were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet visible absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis and electrochemical measurements including cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge measurement. The influence of composite oxidants on the morphology, microstructure, and electrical and electrochemical properties of PANIs was discussed. Interestingly, when APS/K2Cr2O7 was used as the composite oxidants, PANI exhibited petal-like structure with high yield of 57.35% instead of general nanofibrous morphology formed in interfacial polymerization. Compared with those nanofibrous PANIs obtained by using APS as a single oxidant or APS/FeCl3 as composite oxidants, petal-like PANIs exhibited the largest specific capacitance (692.4 F/g at scan rate of 5 mV/s) and highest cycle stability among them. It provides a new insight into the control of PANI nanostructures with high yield and energy storage ability by simply selecting suitable composite oxidants in interfacial polymerization. (C) 2015 Chinese Materials Research Society. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.