Preparation of polyaniline microspheres with nanostructured surfaces by a solids-stabilized emulsion

Polyaniline microspheres with nanostructured surfaces were prepared by a novel surfactant-free emulsion for the first time. The products were characterized by SEM, TEM, FTIR, UV-Vis and BET surface area measurements. The TEM analysis showed that the polyaniline had perfectly spherical morphologies with an average diameter of 14 gm; the results of FTIR and UV-Vis showed that polyaniline microspheres were of emeraldine form; the SEM and BET surface area measurements indicated that polyaniline microspheres consisted of nanometer-sized aciculae with a specific surface area of about 46 m(2)/g. An interfacial polymerization mechanism for the formation of polyaniline microspheres was proposed. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.