Polyaniline and cyclodextrin based chiral nauobundles-functional materials having size and enantioselectivity

摘要

Aqueous dispersions of chiral polyaniline nanobundles (C-PANI-NB) were prepared by simple interfacial polymerization using immiscible organic/aqueous biphasic systems. C-PANI-NB arise from the intertwining of PANI chains over interconnected units of cyclodextrin sulfate. Formation of C-PANI-NB was witnessed only in the aqueous phase, irrespective of the organic solvent used in the interfacial polymerization. The PANI that formed in the aqueous phase existed in the C-PANI-NB form. This was evident from field emission transmission microscopy. The chiro-optical properties of C-PANI-NB are strikingly different from those of simple chiral polyaniline. C-PANI-NB exhibit size selective enantioseparation. C-PANI-NB are expected to find applications as modifiers in capillary electrophoresis, as catalysts for size selective asymmetric synthesis and in biological sensors. Also, the method adopted here for the preparation of C-PANI-NB could be extended to other conducting polymers.