PPy/TiO₂ nanocomposites were successfully prepared by reverse microemulsion polymerization and used as an effective photocatalyst for the degradation of methyl orange. Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) was modified by silane coupling agent to improve the dispersity before the polymerization. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectra were carried out to characterize the morphology and structure of the samples. TEM analysis shows that TiO₂ particles are deposited by polypyrrole (PPy) and the existence of PPy mitigates the agglomeration of TiO₂. XRD spectra reveal that the deposition of PPy does not change the structure of TiO₂ particles. Uv–vis analysis shows that the PPy/TiO₂ nanocomposites have a higher photocatalytic activity under natural light than neat TiO₂. The highest degradation rate occurs when the mass ratio of PPy to TiO₂ is kept at 0.02. POLYM. COMPOS., 34:1076–1080, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers

Conductive polymer particles, polyaniline (PANI)-coated poly(methyl methacrylate–butyl acrylate–acrylic acid) [P(MMA–BA–AA)] nanoparticles, were prepared. The P(MMA–BA–AA)/PANI core–shell complex particles were synthesized with a two-step miniemulsion polymerization method with P(MMA–BA–AA) as the core and PANI as the shell. The first step was to prepare the P(MMA–BA–AA) latex particles as the core via miniemulsion polymerization and then to prepare the P(MMA–BA–AA)/PANI core–shell particles. The aniline monomer was added to the mixture of water and core nanoparticles. The aniline monomer could be attracted near the outer surface of the core particles. The polymerization of aniline was started under the action of ammonium persulfate (APS). The final product was the desired core–shell nanoparticles. The morphology of the P(MMA–BA–AA) and P(MMA–BA–AA)/PANI particles was characterized with transmission electron microscopy. The core–shell structure of the P(MMA–BA–AA)/PANI composites was further determined by Fourier transform spectroscopy and ultraviolet–visible measurements. The conductive flakes made from the core–shell latexes were prepared, and the electrical conductivities of the flakes were studied. The highest conductivity of the P(MMA–BA–AA)/PANI pellets was 2.05 S/cm. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012

The silica/polypyrrole core-shell composites were fabricated by in situ chemical polymerization of pyrrole monomer on the surface of the silica spheres. Silica sol particles with narrow size distributions were prepared by hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane with sol–gel method. Polypyrrole shell was obtained by chemical polymerization of pyrrole monomer on the surface of the silica spheres in the water–ethanol mixture. It can be seen from the experiment, with the adding of small amount of ethanol cosolvent to the aqueous reaction solution, a uniform coating of polypyrrole appeared on the surface of silica. The core-shell morphology of composite particles prepared with variation ethanol adding amount was analyzed by TEM. Meanwhile, the conductivity of the core-shell composite is found to be enhanced apparently compared with those prepared from pure aqueous system. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012

In this article, the microparticles of polystyrene-poly(styrene-co-sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PS-PSS) coated by polyaniline (PANI) were prepared and hollow PANI microspheres were further obtained by dissolving the core. First, surface-sulfonated monodispersed PS was prepared by copolymerization of sodium 4-styrenesulfonate (SSS) and styrene with dispersion polymerization method. Then aniline was polymerized on the surface of the surface-sulfonated PS (PS-PSS) by chemical oxidative polymerization. After purification, we prepared core-shell (PS-PSS)/PANI particles. Hollow PANI microspheres were prepared by dissolving the plastic PS core of the (PS-PSS)/PANI particles in chloroform. The growth process of PANI on the surface of PS-PSS particles was investigated and the hollow PANI microspheres were characterized. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012