Pseudo template synthesis of poly (1-naphthylamine): effect of environment on nanostructured morphology

A template free approach was adopted to explore the effect of polymerization environment on the synthesis of nanostructured poly (1-naphthylamine) (PNA) using cupric chloride as oxidant and methyl alcohol as medium. The polymerization environment was varied by carrying out the synthesis in the presence of nitrogen and oxygen. The morphology of the synthesized nanostructured PNA was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-vis and FT-IR spectroscopies. PNA nanorods of sizes varying between 50–100 nm were obtained in presence of nitrogen while in presence of oxygen, it formed aggregated globular particles of sizes varying between 80–100 nm. The results provide valuable information on controlling the synthesis of one-dimensional nanostructured conducting polymers that exhibit superior processibility as compared to the conventional conducting polymers.