Preparation and characterization of inorganic/organic hybrid nanocomposites based on Au nanoparticles and polypyrrole

We described the synthesis of hybrid nanocomposites composed of mercaptocarboxylic acid capped Au nanoparticles and polypyrrole (PPy) via introducing hydrogen bonding and/or electrostatic interaction by an in situ polymerization method. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies showed that most of the hybrid samples were spherical. Transmission electron microscopic (TEM) studies showed that the morphology of the hybrid nanocomposites was affected by the molar ratio of Au to pyrrole. When the molar ratio of Au to pyrrole was high, more and more Au nanoparticles were absorbed onto the PPy microparticles. When the molar ratio was low, fewer Au nanoparticles were found on the surface of the PPy/Au hybrid nanocomposites. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra were used to characterize the structure of the obtained PPy/Au nanocomposites.