Synthesis and characterization of polypyrrole/Au nanocomposites by microemulsion polymerization

A microemulsion polymerization method to synthesize polypyrrole/Au nanocomposites by direct oxidation of pyrrole using HAuCl4 as the oxidant is presented. Sodium dodecyl sulfate and n-pentanol is used as the surfactant and the cosurfactant, respectively. The obtained nanocomposite particles have a tetrahedron structure, where Au dispersed as ultra-small clusters of elementary gold are encapsulated by polypyrrole. The morphologies and structures of the nanocomposites have been characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and UV–Vis spectroscopy. Conductivity analysis shows that the conductivity of polypyrrole/Au nanocomposites is 12.6 ± 0.06 S/cm.