Polyaniline/TiO2 microspheres prepared by a template-free method

Polyaniline/TiO2 microspheres with 2.5-3.6 μm in average diameter were synthesized by a template-free method in the presence of salicylic acid (SA) as the dopant. It was found that the morphology, conductivity and hydrophilicity of the PANI-SA/TiO2 microspheres were affected by the content of TiO2 nanoparticles. The micelles composed of SA anions and anilinium cations containing TiO2 were proposed to interpret the formation mechanism of the self-assembled composite microspheres.