Letter abstract
Nature Nanotechnology 2, 354 - 357 (2006)
Published online: 27 May 2007 | doi:10.1038/nnano.2007.147
Subject Categories: Structural properties | Synthesis and processing
Growth and alignment of polyaniline nanofibres with superhydrophobic, superhydrophilic and other properties
Nan-Rong Chiou1,2,3, Chunmeng Lu1, Jingjiao Guan2, L. James Lee1,2 & Arthur J. Epstein2,3,4
Abstract
Polyaniline nanofibres can be prepared by a number of methods based on chemical oxidative polymerization1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and in situ adsorption polymerization4, 5, 6. However, the lack of alignment in these nanostructures makes them unsuitable for many applications. Here, we report a simple approach to chemical oxidative polymerization that can control the growth and simultaneous alignment of polyaniline nanofibres grown on a range of conducting and non-conducting substrates in a wide variety of sizes. The diameters of the tips of the nanofibres can be controlled within the range 10–40 nm, and the average length can be controlled within the range 70–360 nm. Moreover, the coatings display a range of properties including superhydrophilicity and superhydrophobicity. Such nanostructured coatings may be useful for applications such as anti-fog coatings, self-cleaning surfaces, DNA manipulation, transparent electrodes for low-voltage electronics, and chemical and biological sensors.
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1180, USA
- The Center for Affordable Nanoengineering of Polymer Biomedical Devices, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1180, USA
- Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1117, USA
- Department of Chemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1185, USA
Correspondence to: Arthur J. Epstein2,3,4 e-mail: epstein@mps.ohio-state.edu
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