Synthesis of nanostructured large particles of polyaniline

Synthesis of larger particles of conductive polymers is usually favorable due to higher conductivity (as a result of lesser interfacial resistance). On the other hand, advantages of nanostructured materials are well known. Thus, it is desirable to fabricate large particles that have nanostructure, to gain double advantage. A simple method based on chemical polymerization under centrifugal forces is proposed to achieve this goal. It was typically employed for a well-known conductive polymer, namely, polyaniline to fabricate large particles (e.g., 400 mu M) with internal nanostructure of similar to 100 nm. This also significantly increases the electrical conductivity of the polymer. This is indeed a simple approach, which can be easily performed using a conventional centrifuge system. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.