Chemical Synthesis of PEDOT Nanotubes

We describe a rapid, room temperature, reverse emulsion polymerization method to chemically synthesize bulk quantities of micrometers long nanotubes of electrically conducting poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) having tube diam-eters in the range 50-100 nm. Composites of PEDOT nanotubes with noble metals, metal oxides, etc., can be readily synthesized using postsynthesis and in situ polymerization methods. In addition to its environmental stability and low redox potential, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is unique among conducting polymers in that its small band gap confers high optical transparency in the doped, conducting state.1 Although it has been extensively investigated for use in antistatic coatings, flexible electronic devices, and transparent electronics,2 its 1D transport properties have been largely unexplored because powders and films of PEDOT obtained possess granular or