Poly(4-chloromethyl styrene-g-4-vinylpyridine)/TiO2 thin films as templates for the synthesis of polypyrrole in the nanometer-sized domain

Abstract

Poly(4-chloromethyl styrene-g-4-vinylpyridine)/TiO2 ((PCMSt-g-P4VP)/TiO2) nanocomposite was employed as template for the synthesis of polypyrrole (PPy) in the nanometer-sized domain using a chemical oxidation polymerization method. For this purpose, at first P4VP chains of (PCMSt-g-P4VP)/TiO2 nanocomposite were complexed with Cu2+ ions in toluene as the solvent and then converted to thin film by dip-coatings on a glass slide. Thereafter PPy was selectively synthesized in the P4VP core containing Cu2+ ions, by soaking the thin film in methanol solutions of pyrrole monomers. The synthesized templated PPy species were studied using scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The optical properties of the products were obtained using UV-Vis spectroscopy and the electrical conductivity of the samples was measured using samples in which the conductive materials were sandwiched between two Ni electrodes at room temperature. Also, using the electrochemical method, synthesis of PPy onto (PCMSt-g-P4VP)/TiO2templates was confirmed under cyclic voltammetric conditions on the surface of the working glassy carbon electrode (GCE). © 2011 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden.