Superhydrophobic 3D Microstructures Assembled From 1D Nanofibers of Polyaniline

Superhydrophobic dandelion‐like 3D microstructures self‐assembled from 1D nanofibers of PANI were prepared by a self‐assembly process in the presence of perfluorosebacic acid (PFSEA) as a dopant. The dandelion‐like microspheres (about 5 µm) are composed of uniform Y‐shaped junction nanofibers of about 210 nm average diameter and several micrometers in length, as measured by SEM. The dandelion‐like microstructure is coreless with a hollow cavity, and the shell thickness is about one third of the sphere diameter, as measured by TEM. Since PFESA dopant has a low surface energy perfluorinated carbon chain and two hydrophilic COOH end groups, it has dopant, is a “soft‐template” and brings about superhydrophobic functions at the same time. Moreover, it is proposed that the self‐assembly of PANI 1D nanofibers, driven by a combined interaction of hydrogen bonding, π‐π stacking and hydrophobic interactions, leads to the formation of the 3D microstructures. magnified image