Comparison of chiral polyaniline carbon nanotube nanocomposites synthesized by aniline dimer-assisted chemistry and electrochemistry methods

We report herein aniline dimer-assisted chemistry and electrochemistry methods for synthesis of chiral polyaniline carbon nanotube composites. The negative charged carbon nanotubes were first dispersed into aqueous solution, and then aniline monomer, chiral inducing agent camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) and aniline dimer were added into above solution in sequence. Polymerization was initiated by adding oxidizing agent ammonium persulfate solution (chemistry method) or by inserting electrode with appropriate potential (electrochemistry method). Roles of CSA and aniline dimer in determining optical activity of the resulting polyaniline carbon nanotube nanocomposites were investigated in detail in this study. Effects of the carbon nanotube loading and the temperature on the optical activity of the resulting polyaniline carbon nanotube nanocomposites were also investigated. Two different methods (solution chemistry and electrochemistry) were compared in the synthesis of the chiral polyaniline carbon nanotube nanocomposites in this study.