Nucleation and Growth of Polyaniline Nanofibers onto Liquid Metal Nanoparticles

Liquid metals can play an essential role in the generation of electrically conductive composites for electronic devices and environmental sensing and remediation applications. Here, a method for growing a polyaniline nanofibrous network at liquid metal nanoparticle interfaces is demonstrated for generating hybrid liquid metal–polymer nanocomposites. The investigation shows that an initial functionalization step of the liquid metal nanoparticles with a polymerization enhancer is essential for providing stable and specific nucleation points for the formation of the polyaniline nanofibrous network. The acidity and mechanical agitation conditions are carefully adjusted to control the fibrous polyaniline. The embedded gallium elements form an initial seeding layer around the liquid metal nanoparticles. The novel nanocomposites offer synergistic properties for environmental sensing and molecular separation applications. This study provides a road map for the direct synthesis of long organic molecular chains at the dynamic interfaces of liquid metals.