Reversible encapsulation of nanometer-size polyaniline and polyaniline-Au-nanoparticle composite in starch

In this paper we report a new method of solubilization of polyaniline and polyaniline-Au-nanoparticle composite by encapsulating nanometer-size particles in starch. The solubilization was carried out in the presence of ultrasonic waves. We also report that the encapsulation was completely reversible and the dissolved polyaniline as well as the composite could be recovered by replacement with molecular iodine. In addition, the polymer particles could also replace molecular iodine from starch-iodine complex. UV-Visible and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic measurements established the reversible nature of encapsulation. Transmission electron microscopic measurements showed that the sizes of the particles encapsulated in starch were on the order of 10-20 nm for both polyaniline and Au-nanoparticle-polyaniline composite particles. X-ray diffraction evidenced the presence of Au-nanoparticles in the starch-polyaniline-Au-nanoparticle composite. Finally, we also mention here that the dissolved polyaniline could also be recovered as a precipitate by enzyme (diastage) hydrolysis of the polyaniline encapsulating starch.