Preparation and characterization of polyaniline micro/nanotubes with dopant acid mordant dark yellow GG

Polyaniline(PANI) micro/nanotubes doped with novel dopant acid mordant dark yellow GG (AMY GG) were prepared by soft template method in the presence of ammonium persulfate (APS) as an oxidant. It was found that the molar ratio of HCl to aniline and washing method of the products played key roles in the formation of PANI micro/nanotubes. Changing the molar ratio of HCl to aniline, the typical morphology of PANI could be changed from nanotubes to microtubes. In order to get the final product, different solvents were tried to wash away the by-products. After the by-products were removed by water/methonal/ether, the PANI micro/nanotubes appeared. The morphology of PANI micro/nanotubes was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The chemical structure and thermal stability of PANI micro/nanotubes were examined by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The formation mechanism of PANI micro/nanotubes was also discussed.