Morphology and conducting property of Ag/poly(pyrrole) composite nanoparticles: Effect of polymeric stabilizers

Ag/poly(pyrrole) (Ag/PPy) composite nanoparticles were successfully prepared using poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid-co-maleic acid) sodium salt (PSSMA) or poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) as a polymeric stabilizer via one-pot oxidative polymerization in an aqueous medium. During the polymerization, pyrrole monomer is polymerized into PPy at the aggregates of the polymeric stabilizers by Ag+ ions, and which are reduced to Ag0 metal state by pyrrole with coordination bonding between the polymeric stabilizers and Ag+ ions. UV–vis spectrophotometry confirmed that the coordination complex affected the reduction rate of Ag+ ions and the reduction rate of Ag+ ions in PSSMA system was slower than that of PVP due to the electron withdrawing nature of PSSMA. Effect of the structural difference between PVP and PSSMA on the morphology and electrical conductivity of Ag/PPy composite nanoparticles was studied and compared.