A novel chemical synthesis of bowl-shaped polypyrrole particles

• Bowl-shaped polypyrrole particles are first prepared using chemical polymerization.
• It presents a facile way to synthesize bowl-shaped PPy particles by adding N-methylpyrrole.
• PNMPy molecules react with PPy molecules during polymerization process.

This paper describes a novel approach for chemical polymerization procedure of bowl-shaped polypyrrole (PPy) particles using ferric chloride as oxidant and iodine as dopant. The bowl-shaped PPy particles can be easily synthesized by adding N-methylpyrrole (NMPy) in pyrrole solution. Analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the bowl-shaped PPy particles were revealed as a circular opening and hemispherical profile morphology. The results suggested that poly(N-methylpyrrole) (PNMPy) was present in the bowl-shaped PPy particles and interacted with PPy molecules during polymerization process. The as-prepared bowl-shaped PPy particles showed potential applications in drug delivery and catalyst supports.