Controllable length adjustment of polyaniline particle with temperature sensitive block copolymer as template

Abstract

Although the diameter of conductive polymer nanoparticles can be controlled effectively, the uniformity of particle length is still very challenging. In this study, with the temperature‐sensitive block copolymer PS111‐b‐PNIPAM114 as the template, the morphology and size of polyaniline (PANI) particles had been controllably adjusted through the change of temperature. Additionally, the electrochemical performance of each sample was investigated. After PS111‐b‐PNIPAM114 was synthesized through the reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer radical polymerization (RAFT), with its vesicular micelle as the “template”, the PANI particles with uniform length distribution were prepared successfully at 40°C. The average length of PANI particles after template removal was 254.07 nm with a short tail distribution, which was closer to the average than the standard normal distribution. Electrochemical results of PANI showed that it had good electrochemical activity with fast charge and discharge ability. And, with the current density of 1 A·g−1, its discharge‐specific capacitance could reach up to 805.61 F·g−1.