Ultrasonic synthesis of polyaniline nanotubes containing Fe3O4 nanoparticles

Polyaniline (PANI) nanotubes containing Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized under ultrasonic irradiation of the aqueous solutions of aniline, ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS), phosphoric acid (H3PO4), and the quantitative amount of Fe3O4. It was found that the obtained samples had the morphologies of nanotubes. TEM images and selected area electronic diffractions showed that Fe3O4 nanoparticles were embedded in PANI nanotubes. We thought that the mechanism of the formation of PANI/Fe3O4 nanotubes could be attributed to the ultrasonic irradiation and the H3PO4–aniline salt template. The molecular structure of PANI/Fe3O4 nanotubes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-vis absorption spectra and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The conductivity and magnetic properties of the PANI nanotubes containing Fe3O4 nanoparticles were also investigated.