Electroless deposition of nickel on electrospun fibers of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid doped polyaniline

Micron size diameter fibers of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid doped polyaniline were prepared via electrospinning. The conductivity of individual fibers was found to be lower than that of a cast film of the same polymer. Using the electroless deposition technique, the fibers were coated with thin films of nickel. The metal coated the fibers uniformly, as was evident from SEM spectroscopy without any lateral overlap, leading to a decrease in its resistance by three orders of magnitude while retaining the large surface area that is inherent to small diameter fibers. In this work, we combine the electrospinning and electroless deposition techniques to prepare, in a matter of minutes, metal-coated fibrous polymer substrates with large surface area.