Preparation of polyaniline–palladium composite microflakes by one-step interface polymerization method

Polyaniline–palladium (PANi-Pd) composite microflakes were synthesized through an immiscible organic/inorganic biphasic system in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) with molecular weight 4,000 (PEG4000). Aniline was oxidized by PdCl2 in the interface polymerization system, yielding PANi microflakes and elemental Pd nanoparticles simultaneously. Palladium nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed in the microflakes of PANi. The results of FTIR spectra suggested that the oxidation degree of PANi was affected by the initial ratio of metal ions to monomer. The PANi-Pd composites were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and the conductivity of the composite was measured by conventional four-probe method. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used to show the morphology of the composites.