Growth of one-dimensional doped polypyrrole nanofibers on glass substrate
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One-dimensional (1D) nanofibers of polypyrrole (PPY) are fabricated on glass substrates in the presence of different dopants, namely, hydrochloric acid (HCl), ferric chloride (FeCl36H2O), p-toluene sulfonic acid, camphor sulfonic acid, and polystyrene sulfonic acid using a simple in situ vapor phase chemical oxidative polymerization method. Preliminary morphological details investigated using light microscopic study reveal 1D configuration for all the doped PPY structures, indicating a fibrous/tubular appearance. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy confirms preferential growth of these PPY structures as fine fibers arranged in a brush-/comb-like pattern, having an average diameter of 70 nm. Such brush-like growing pattern observed for the PPY nanostructures without the aid of nanoporous membranes and/or sophisticated techniques is not very commonly reported in the literature. The undertaken work suggests applications of nanodimensioned fabricated PPY structures in the practical nanodevices and/or functional glass for sensing, optoelectronic, photocatalysis, and solar energy systems.
I. INTRODUCTION
Fabrication of nanostructured materials over an array of chemical compositions, shapes, and size with novel properties constitutes a progressively evolving branch of nanotechnology.1–3 It is the phenomenon of bottom-up directed growth of building blocks with nanoscale features to organize themselves into functional structures, as driven by the energetics of the system. More specifically, development of p-conjugated organic polymeric systems in one-dimensional (1D) forms, such as nanowires, nanofibers, nanorods, nanotubes, etc., has become one of the most potential and innovative area of research in the recent years.3–5 These structures display excellent configurations for producing molecular wires/tubes, which act as fundamental units in nanodevices. Their unique size-dependent properties bestow them superior and indispensable characteristic properties that facilitate potential applications in nanotechnological fields like optics, electronics, optoelectronics, electrochemical, biological devices, etc.6,7 However, to manipulate molecules into desired structures, simple and novel chemical methodologies are required. Till date, synthesis and characterization of many nanostructured organic polymers have been reported through different techniques so as to develop nanosystems of desired functionalities.8–10 An intriguing root to construct nanosystems has also been to deposit polymeric systems on a)
Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected] DOI: 10.1557/jmr.2012.352 J. Mater. Res., Vol. 27, No. 23, Dec 14, 2012
suitable substrates in a spatially controlled fashion to improve their properties at nanodimensions. In this regard, various strategies like sol–gel,7 pulsed laser deposition,11 Langmuir–Blodgett,12 self-assembly,13 soft lithography,14 thermal evaporation,15 etc. have been developed in an overdrive mode to make smart materials exercising the knowledge of the characteristic properties of t
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