Hydrophilic behaviour of gold-poly ( o-phenylenediamine) hybrid nanocomposite

• Published in: Materials science & engineering. B, Solid-state materials for advanced technology Solid-state materials for advanced technology, 2007-06, Vol.140 (3), p.166-171
• Main Authors: Mallick, Kaushik, Witcomb, Mike J., Erasmus, Rudolph, Scurrell, Mike S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Gold nanoparticle; Interfacial polymerization; Metal–polymer composite; Raman spectra; TEM
• ISSN: 0921-5107; 1873-4944
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mseb.2007.03.015

An in situ synthesis route is described for the preparation of a gold-poly ( o-phenylenediamine) nanocomposite material by the interfacial polymerization route. The synthesis was carried out at the organic–aqueous interface. It was found that polymerization of o-phenylenediamine (PDA) using HAuCl 4 as an oxidizing agent leads to the formation of poly-PDA with a fiber-like morphology, while the reduction of HAuCl 4 results in the formation of well dispersed and stabilized gold nanoparticles within the polymer matrix. The resultant composite material was purely hydrophilic in nature and was deposited in the aqueous fraction of the reaction medium. The metal–polymer was characterized by means of different techniques, such as UV–vis and Raman spectroscopy that provided information about the chemical structure of polymer, whereas electron microscopy images provided information regarding the morphology of the composite material and the distribution of the metal particles in the composite material.