Synthesis of nanoscale poly(o-phenylenediamine) regular hexagonal prisms: A new way to build the 3D structure from 2D structure with amorphous structure

•We bring forward a new idea for preparation CP-NPs via dipole between oligomers.•The mechanism is proved by analyze the morphology of precursor at the early stage.•The nano sized PoPD hexagonal prisms have excellent fluorescent properties.•The PoPD hexagonal prisms are ultra-sensitive fluorescent probe for Cu2+.

The amorphous structure of conducting polymers (CPs) has made it difficult for the researcher to get regular crystallike CP nanoparticles (such as: cube, triangle, polygon and polyhedron) without template. This paper brings forward a new idea for to get regular crystallike CP nanoparticles via the structure-directing role which can be attributed to the dipole and π–π interaction between oligomers. The regular hexagonal prism or equilateral triangle shapes PoPD nanoparticles can be easily prepared with our new way. The mechanism is proved by analyzing the morphology of precursor at the early stage of hydrothermal progress. We also explored the feasibility of using nano-sized PoPD hexagonal prisms for Cu2+ supersensitive fluorescence detection. The ultra-sensitive of PoPD hexagonal prisms is remarkable.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide