Conducting properties of polypyrrole coated imogolite

Abstract

Imogolite which has chemical composition, (HO)3Al 2O3SiOH, was synthesized with orthosilicate acid and aluminium chloride at low pH solution. It has extremely large aspect ratio with an external diameter of 2nm and the length of a few micrometers. The high aspect ratio of the imogolite could make the material as the filler for the high strength fiber and as the wire for the electronic applications. Here, Imogolite that derives considerable microporosity from a nanometer-sized tubular structure has been modified with a conducting polymer, polypyrrole. Its bonding and wiring structure were confirmed by IR and TEM. The measured conductivity after modification with polypyrrole increased with polypyrrole thickness at various voltage conditions.