Controllable fabrication of SiO2–polypyrrole core–shell dimer and trimer spheres

Abstract

Core–shell SiO2–polypyrrole (PPy) dimer and trimer particles were prepared using a simple method involving a redox reaction, in which silver nitrate and pyrrole were employed as reactants. The prepared single, dimer, and trimer SiO2 particles, as well as SiO2–PPy core–shell composites, were examined using scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The probable formation mechanism of dimer and trimer core–shell particles was proposed based on the experimental results.