Synthesis of core/shell metal oxide/polyaniline nanocomposites and hollow polyaniline capsules

A double-surfactant-layer-assisted polymerization method was designed to prepare well-controlled core/shell metal oxide/polyaniline (c/s-MO/PANi) nanocomposites. Monodispersed and uniform core/shell nanocomposites including c/s-CuO/PANi, −Fe2O3/PANi, −In2O3/PANi and −Fe2O3/SiO2/PANi were successfully prepared using this polymerization method. By the removal of the cores for the resulting c/s-MO/PANi nanocomposites, hollow PANi capsules with different shapes and sizes were obtained. Our method provides a facile and effective way to design novel core/shell nanostructures with diverse functionality and high colloidal stability.