Preparation, characterization and electrical properties of polyaniline nanofibers containing sulfonated cyclodextrin group

Nanostructured polyaniline was prepared by simple interfacial polymerization using immiscible organic/aqueous biphasic systems in the presence of sulfonated β-cyclodextrin and sulfonated α-cyclodextrin. Sulfonated cyclodextrins (CDs) were used to promote the template synthesis resulting in different structure of PANI. The effect of synthesis conditions on morphology and size as well as electrical properties of the nanostructured polyaniline were investigated. These include concentration of sulfonated cyclodextrins in the polymerization media, reaction temperature and type of oxidant. A uniform polyaniline nanofiber with average diameter of 50-60 nm was obtained in the presence of sulfonated cyclodextrins media and using FeCl3 as an oxidant in the polymerization. The nanostructured polyaniline was characterized by SEM, FTIR, UV-Vis, EDAX and XRF.