Preparation and characterization of poly(o-phenylenediamine) microrods using ferric chloride as an oxidant

Microrods of poly(o-phenylenediamine) (PoPD) were synthesized by a templateless method using ferric chloride as an oxidant. The microrod morphologies of the resulting PoPD were confirmed by scanning electron microscopic (SEM) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) images. When the concentration of o-phenylenediamine (oPD) was 0.03 M, the microrods of PoPD had a diameter in the range of 0.5–2 μm and a length from 2 μm to 20 μm. It was found that the concentration of oPD monomer had much influence on the morphology of the obtained PoPD. When the concentration of oPD was lower than 0.03 M, long microrods could be observed. However, when the concentration of oPD monomer was higher than 0.12 M, the length of the microrods became very short and the diameter became bigger. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV–vis absorption spectra and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize the structure of the obtained PoPD microrods.