Controlled fabrication of nanostructured polypyrrole on ion association template: Tubes, rods and networks

Polypyrrole (PPy) with variable nanostructure such as nanotubes, nanorods and networks has been fabricated by employing an ion association of heparin–methylene blue as new morphology-directing agent. The ion association exhibited both advantages of hard and soft template in template-induced chemical polymerization of pyrrole. By altering the ration of ion association component, PPy could be easily switched in morphology between nanotubes and nanorods. With the coordination effect of ion association and oxidant Fe3+, PPy networks with high conductivity could also be obtained in static condition. The achieved nanostructured polypyrrole were all doped with heparin, a biochemical material, and had potential exploitation value in electrochemistry and biochemistry.