Well-aligned polyaniline nano-fibril array membrane and its field emission property

Well-aligned and uniform polyaniline (PANI) nano-fibril array film was prepared by synthesizing within the anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. The growth mechanism of PANI nano-fibrils is related to the structure of AAO, polymerization temperature and molar ratios of monomer/oxidized reagent. Fourier transmission infrared (FTIR) results supply the evidence for the formation of PANI fibrils. Here we first show that template-synthesized PANI array membrane can be directly used as an electron field emitter. A low threshold electric field of 5–6 V/μm and maximum emission current density of ∼5 mA/cm2 are observed, which suggests a new candidate as a field-emitting material. The simple and convenient approach should be significant for the development of field emission displays (FEDs) technology.