Effect of chitosan on interfacial polymerization of aniline

In this study, a chemical oxidization method was utilized to prepare nanostructured polyaniline (PANI) via interfacial polymerization, which employed an immiscible interface formed using aqueous and organic solutions. The effect of the amount of chitosan on the morphology of the nanostructured PANI was elucidated. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results demonstrate that PANI nanofibers were only fabricated via interfacial polymerization of aniline when the amount of chitosan was <1.5 wt%. However, when the amount of chitosan was exceeded 2.5 wt%, only PANI nanoparticles were obtained, not nanofibers. When the amount of chitosan used was 1.5–2.5 wt% during interfacial polymerization of aniline, the morphology of the PANI products was a mix of nanofibers and nanoparticles.