Controlling the polypyrrole microstructures using swollen liquid crystals as structure directing agent

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Microstructures of polypyrrole (PPy) with different morphology were synthesized using swollen liquid crystals (SLCs) as soft structure directing agents and confinement effect on the control of PPy microstructures have been thoroughly investigated. SLCs are the quaternary mixtures of aqueous phase: oil phase: surfactant: co-surfactant. Mesophases of PPy were synthesized by trapping small amount of pyrrole in the oil phase of SLCs. Spherical, fiber and rod-like microstructures of PPy were synthesized by adding ammonium persulphate (APS) as an oxidant under different synthesis conditions using SLCs. The possible mechanism for the formation of different PPy microstructures also proposed in this study.