Tuning poly( p-phenylene) nano-size for enhancing electrical conductivity based on surfactant templates and doping

摘要

Nanoparticles play a vital role in the material property improvement. For conductive polymers, nanoparticles have been known to affect various electrical properties. This work reports the size-controlled synthesis of poly(p-phenylene) (PPP) nanoparticles using benzene, AlCl3, and CuCl2as a monomer, catalyst, and oxidant respectively, incorporated with a surfactant template and subsequently doped with various doping agents to increase the electrical conductivity. The effects of surfactant types namely Span65, Tween80, and TritonX100 and surfactant concentrations were investigated. The PPP structure was confirmed by NMR, FT-IR, and XPS techniques. SEM images showed different undoped-PPP (uPPP) morphologies: irregular shape, coral reef shape, spherical shape, and worm-like shape with the particle sizes between ～30 and ～120?nm not previously reported. The electrical conductivity of the uPPP with a surfactant was higher than that without a surfactant due to the smaller particle size. From the doping, the electrical conductivity of the doped-PPP (dPPP) increased with the doping agent to monomer mole ratio up to 50:1. The dPPP doped with HClO4(dPPP/HClO4) at the doping agent to monomer mole ratio of 50:1 exhibited the highest electrical conductivity of 74.34?S?cm?1along with the long term stability in air.