Self-Assembly of Poly(o-methoxyaniline) Hollow Microspheres

Abstract

Hollow microspheres of poly(o-methoxyaniline) (POMA) were prepared in a solution of p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TSA) using ammonium persulfate (APS) as oxidant. The morphology of the final polymers was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The molecular structure and electrical properties of the products were investigated using a range of spectroscopic methods. The mechanism of nanostructure formation was studied in the light of the chemical nature of the starting monomer and other synthesis conditions, such as the reaction temperature and time and the concentrations of the oxidant and of the dopant molecule. It was established that the mechanism of microsphere formation is based on polymer growth on preformed micelles, which could be seen in freeze-fracture experiments. The presence of p-TSA led to microspheres with a very regular size distribution. The CH 3 O-group on the aniline side chain also increased the electrocatalytic activity of nanostructured POMA films cast on a glassy carbon electrode for ascorbic acid (AA) oxidation, in comparison with polyaniline nanotubes.

Highly efficient adsorbents of poly(o-phenylenediamine) solid and hollow sub-microspheres towards lead ions: A comparative study

“…Formation mechanisms of PoPD hollow structures have been proposed according to our previous literatures [36][37][38][39][40], where monomer droplets are considered as template for the generation of hollow structures while diffusion flux of monomers during polymerization processes results in the formation of hole in each surface. The monomer droplets as proposed by our group have also been confirmed by others [42]. It can be reported that besides hollow structures, solid structures and other structures are seldom seen, which proves high uniformity of products.…”

Controlling the thickness of hollow polymeric microspheres prepared by electrohydrodynamic atomization

“…Spheres with hollow interiors play an important role in microencapsulation and have been used in medical, biological, pharmaceutical and industrial applications (Hu et al 2007;Bai et al 2009;Xiao et al 2009;Yan et al 2009;Zhang et al 2009). Both organic and inorganic materials have been investigated to manufacture new and smart hollow microspheres and offer advantages such as low effective density, large internal 'payload' space and high specific surface area (Lou et al 2008;Shiomi et al 2009;Zimmermann et al 2009).…”

Effect of iron acetylacetonate on the crosslink structure, thermal and flammability properties of novel aromatic diamine-based benzoxazines containing cyano group

“…2 shows the FTIR spectra of the neat BAPBACP monomer at different cure temperatures. 25 Furthermore, the intensity of the absorption band at 1500 cm À1 , assigned to 1,2,4-trisubstituted benzene, had little change during the curing, indicating that the benzene ring in the structure of the BAPBACP monomer did not alter during the ring-opening process. At the initial reaction stage (BAPBACP curve in Fig.…”