Soft-Templated Synthesis of Lightweight, Elastic, and Conductive Nanotube Aerogels

Abstract

Conductive polymer (CP) nanotubes are fascinating nanostructures with high electrical conductivity, fast charge/discharge capability, and high mechanical strength. Despite these attractive physical properties, progress in the synthesis of CP nanotube hydrogels is still limited. Here, we report a facile and effective approach for the synthesis of polypyrrole (PPy) nanotube hydrogels by using the weakly interconnected network of self-assembled nanotubes of lithocholic acid as a soft template. The PPy nanotube hydrogels are then converted to aerogels by freeze drying, in which PPy nanotubes form elastic and conductive networks with a density of 38 mg/cm 3 and an electrical conductivity of 1.13 S/m. The PPy nanotube aerogels are able to sustain a compressive strain as high as 70% and show an excellent cyclic compressibility due to their robust nanotube networks and hierarchically porous structures, which allow the compressive stress to be easily dissipated. Furthermore, PPy nanotube aerogels show negative strain-dependent electrical resistance changes under compressive strains. The lightweight, elastic, and conductive PPy nanotube aerogels may find potential applications in strain sensors, supercapacitors, and tissue scaffolds.

Multifunctional Properties of Commercial Bile Salts for Advanced Materials Engineering

“…Reproduced with permission. [105] Copyright 2018, American Chemical Society. c) without sodium cholate.…”

“…Especially interesting is the possibility to form PPy nanotubes using lithocholic acid as a template. [ 105 ] The approach ( Figure ) developed by Liang et al is based on the self‐assembly properties of lithocholic acid, which formed tubular structures. Such tubular templates facilitated the synthesis of PPy nanotube hydrogels.…”

“…Such tubular templates facilitated the synthesis of PPy nanotube hydrogels. [ 105 ] Rod‐like PPy particles ( Figure ) with high surface areas were prepared using sodium cholate as a template for applications in CO 2 and dopamine sensors. [ 106 ] Amphiphilic BA anions [ 107 ] showed strong adsorption on polythiophene and allowed for reduced aggregation and luminescence enhancement.…”

Rational Design of Hierarchical CoO/NiO Nanosheets on Conductive Polypyrrole Nanotubes for Peroxidase Mimicking and Sensing Application

“…32,33 Especially, the one-dimensional (1D) conducting polymerbased nanomaterials exhibit enhanced electron/mass transport capacity and stability compared to other nanostructured conducting polymers. 34,35 Recently, some researches have demonstrated that 1D conducting polymer-based nanomaterials are efficient ones for peroxidase mimicking, showing promising applications for biosensing and environmental monitoring. 36−39 thiophene) nanocables have been prepared from a wet chemical reaction between sodium tellurite and 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene followed by a galvanic replacement process, which showed a superior peroxidase-like efficiency to sensitively detect H 2 O 2 .…”

“…Over the last decades, conducting polymers such as polyaniline, polypyrrole, and polythiophene have been broadly applied in the areas of biosensing, catalysis, energy conversion and storage, and environmental technology due to their unique π-conjugated chain structures, low electrical resistance, rich surface functional groups, and favorable processibility. , Especially, the one-dimensional (1D) conducting polymer-based nanomaterials exhibit enhanced electron/mass transport capacity and stability compared to other nanostructured conducting polymers. , Recently, some researches have demonstrated that 1D conducting polymer-based nanomaterials are efficient ones for peroxidase mimicking, showing promising applications for biosensing and environmental monitoring. − For example, Pd@poly­(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanocables have been prepared from a wet chemical reaction between sodium tellurite and 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene followed by a galvanic replacement process, which showed a superior peroxidase-like efficiency to sensitively detect H 2 O 2 . On the other hand, 1D conducting polymers with a hollow nanostructure usually possess a high surface area and lower density, which is able to facilitate the electron and mass transport efficiency, showing great potential for enzyme mimicking .…”