Synthesis and Self-Assembly of Nanostructural Copolymer from Aniline with Pyrrole via Unstirred Polymerization

Nanostructural poly(aniline-co-pyrrole)(PANPY) copolymers with a high yield(88%) were synthesized by unstirred polymerization of aniline(AN) and pyrrole(PY) with ammonium peroxydisulfate as an oxidant.It is found that the morphologies of the copolymer strongly depend on the aniline/pyrrole molar ratio and polymerization medium species.PANPY(90/10) copolymer nanofibers in diameters of 70～90 nm and lengths of 1.3μm were prepared in 1.0 mol/L HCl at 0℃for 24 h,whereas PANPY(50/50) copolymer waxberry-like spheres (400nm in diameter) were produced during the polymerization in 1.0 mol/L HCl at 0℃for 24 h.Transmission electron microscopy(TEM) image reveals that the PANPY(50/50) copolymer waxberry-like spheres are constructed with their own nanofibers by self-assembly process.While the PAN/PY(90/10) copolymer self-assembled microspheres(1.8μm～2.6μm in outer diameter) were obtained by changing the reaction medium from 1.0 mol/L HCl to 0.1 mol/L NaOH.