Monitoring Polymerization of Conjugated Polymers on Nanoparticles: A SANS Study
ORAL
Abstract
Ferromagnetic nanoparticles have shown promising applications in water treatment due to their large surface area, high reactivity, stability and reusability. However, their dissolution in aqueous environment greatly diminishes the usability as photocatalysts. Coating of conductive polymers on the surface of photocatalysts can reduce the dissolution without compromising the material’s photocatalytic properties. In this work, polypyrrole (PPy) and polyaniline (PANI) were coated on the surface of two magnetically separable MoO3/Fe3O4 nanocomposites with different surface chemistries. We used small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) technique to in situ monitor the polymerization kinetics by taking advantage of neutron’s sensitivity on light elements. The scattering results reveal that PPy polymerization initiated faster yet had a slower rate than PANI. This study shows that the polymerization of PPy was more affected by the base material properties than PANI. These findings can be explained by different polymerization mechanisms of the two polymers. The ultimate size of polymer chains grafted on nanoparticles largely depended on the concentration and the surface properties of the nanoparticles. These observations provide valuable insights on the polymerization mechanisms of two conjugated polymers on the surface of nanocomposites.
*U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists, Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program and the Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) Sandwich Program of the College of Engineering, University of the Philippines, Diliman. This research used resources at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, DOE Office of Science User Facilities operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Research sponsored by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U. S. Department of Energy.
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Publication:"In Situ Polymerization of Polypyrrole and Polyaniline on the Surface of Magnetic Molybdenum Trioxide Nanoparticles: Implications for Water Treatment" Fanourakis, Sofia; Barroga, Sharona; Perez, Jem Valerie; He, Lilin; Rodrigues, Debora. Submitted.
