Formation of self-assembled nanofiber-like Ag@PPy core/shell structures induced by SDBS

Core-shell structured Ag@PPy nano-particles (NPs) were prepared by a facile method through a redox reaction, where silver nitrate and pyrrole were employed as reactants, sodium dodecyl benzyl sulfonate (SDBS) was used as a template to induce the formation of nanofiber-like Ag@PPy core-shell structure. Formation processes of this kind of structure were proposed. Firstly, sphere-like Ag@PPy structures were produced. Secondly, these sphere-like particles assembled to form nanofiber-like morphology. Effects of the concentration of SDBS on morphology of the sample were investigated. When the morphology of the samples changed from spherical to nanofibrous, the electrical conductivity of the sample increased from 11 ± 2 to 165 ± 5 S/cm.