Facile synthesis of polyaniline micro-rods with high yield

A facile method to prepare polyaniline (PAn) micro-rods in dimethyl fomamide (DMF) solution was developed. The structure of the polyaniline micro-rods was determined by the Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD), FT-IR and UV–vis spectroscopy. They showed that the average length and diameter of the polyaniline micro-rods were about 15 μm and 6 μm, respectively. At the same time, the effect of reaction solution and polystyrene (PS) concentration on the formation and morphology of the polyaniline micro-rods was further investigated in detail. The result showed that the reaction solution DMF was the key factor for the formation of polyaniline micro-rods and the morphology of polyaniline micro-rods could be controlled by PS concentration. Moreover, the electrical and microwave absorption properties of rod-like products were also investigated. And the result showed that the short micro-rod products had higher electrical and microwave absorption properties compared with long micro-rod products.

► Polyaniline (PAn) micro-rods was prepared in dimethyl fomamide (DMF) solution by one-step method.
► This present method shows an easy processing and does not need soft and hard template to attain final PAn micro-rods.
► The high yield of the PAn rods can be obtained by present method.