Clip-like polyaniline nanofibers synthesized by an insitu chemical oxidative polymerization and its strong electrorheological behavior

We fabricated a clip-like polyaniline (PANI) nanofiber by using an insitu chemical oxidative polymerization assisted with a surfactant mixed system. First of all, three kinds of surfactants (cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS)) were used to provide different mixing combination. The combination of different surfactants has an important role on the morphology of obtained PANI nanoparticles. We propose possible synthetic mechanisms which CTAB and PVP as a structure directing agent plays the role of template to adjust the morphology. The morphology of clip-like PANI nanofibers has been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The structure was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Thermo Gravimetric Analyzer (TGA). Moreover, the electrorheological (ER) behavior of clip-like polyaniline nanofibers was characterized by rotational rheometer.