Synthesis of PANI solid microspheres with convex-fold surface via using polyvinylpyrrolidone micellar template

- PANI solid microspheres with convex-fold surface are obtained.
- The mechanism of PVP micellar template is reported.
- The influence factors on the formation of PANI solid microspheres are investigated.

Although various micro/nanostructures of polyaniline (PANI) have been reported, it still remains as a great challenge to produce PANI solid microspheres. Here, with the aid of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) micellar template, PANI solid microspheres with convex-fold surface are readily prepared in a static HCl solution (0.010 M) at room temperature. The measured results of SEM, TEM, FTIR, XRD, XPS, and TGA demonstrate the successful preparation of PANI microspheres having solid structure. Moreover, the effects of concentration of HCl solution and surfactant types on the morphologies of PANI structures are investigated. The trick of forming such solid microspheres is ascribed to the synergistic effect of appropriate concentration of dopant acid, specific surfactant, and long alkyl chain of PVP molecules which has better solubilization effect on aniline molecules in comparison with other organic acid micellar templates.