A novel strategy for the synthesis of polyaniline nanostructures with controlled morphology

Polyaniline (PANI) nanostructures with sheets-, fiber- and spherical-like morphologies were synthesized from p-toluene sulfonic acid (p-TSA) aqueous solution. The results demonstrate that the morphology of PANI nanostructures was significantly influenced by the molar ratio of aniline to p-TSA. Other experimental parameters, such as polymerization temperature and the concentration of ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS), also have an influence on the morphology of PANI nanostructures. A rational mechanism based on the self-assembly of micelles is proposed for the formation of PANI nanostructures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were applied to characterize the products.