3D Hollow Microspheres Assembled from 1D Polyaniline Nanowires through a Cooperation Reaction

Novel 3D hollow spheres (diameter ≈525 nm, thickness ≈70 nm) self‐assembled from 1D PANI nanofibers (diameter ≈17 nm) with conductivity of 1.11 × 10−1 S · cm−1 are synthesized template‐free by using FeCl3 and salicylic acid as the oxidant and dopant, respectively. In this method, the reaction of aniline with FeCl3 and SA to form conductive PANI and the reaction of SA with FeCl3 to produce a color complex, assigned as Fe(OR)2+, wherein OR represents the ionized phenol, coexist. The coexistence of two reactions results in a cooperative effect of the micelle, where aniline/SA acts as as a soft template of the nanofibers and the color complex as a soft‐template of the spheres, to allow the self‐assembly of complex micro/nanostructures via hydrogen bonding as the driving force. magnified image