Polydopamine Spheres as Active Templates for Convenient Synthesis of Various Nanostructures

Abstract In this work, monodisperse polydopamine (PDA) spheres with tunable diameters have been synthesized through a facile and low cost method using a deionized water and alcohol mixed solvent. The PDA spheres possess surface functional groups (–OH, –NH 2 ), exhibiting an extraordinary versatile active nature. It is demonstrated that the PDA spheres could serve as an active template for the convenient synthesis of various nanostructures, e.g., MnO 2 hollow spheres or PDA/Fe 3 O 4 and PDA/Ag core/shell nanostructures. No surface modification or special treatment is required for the synthesis of these nanostructures, which makes the fabrication process simple and very convenient. The novel application of PDA/Fe 3 O 4 spheres as fillers in nanocomposites for high‐performance capacitors is demonstrated, indicating a promising practicality. The PDA spheres provide a new general platform not only for the facile assembly of nanostructures but also a green synthetic template for practical applications.