Synthesis and characterization of core-shell nanostructured PPy/V2O5 composite

Polypyrrole/V2O5 (PPy/V2O5) composite was synthesized successfully by in-suit chemical oxidation polymerization of pyrrole in the host of inorganic matrix, using complex of methyl orange (MO)/FeCl3 as a reactive self-degraded soft-template. The morphology and molecular structure of the composite were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) transmission spectra, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results indicated that PPy/V2O5 composite possessed the typical core-shell nanostructures, in which the irregularly shaped V2O5 particles act as the “core”, while the self-assembled PPy nanotubes serve as the “shell” of the composite. And there was no obvious chemical interaction but some physical interaction between PPy and V2O5 in the composite.