Polyaniline Microtubes with a Hexagonal Cross‐Section and pH‐Sensitive Fluorescence Properties

Abstract Polyaniline (PANI) microtubes with a hexagonal cross‐section are successfully synthesized by a self‐assembly process in the presence of 8‐hydroxyquinoline‐5‐sulfonic acid (HQS) as a dopant and FeCl 3 as an oxidant. The wall thickness of the PANI/HQS microtubes can be adjusted by the content of the oxidant. It is proposed that the aniline/HQS salts serve as a hard template for the formation of the hexagonal‐cross‐section microtubes. Moreover, PANI/HQS microtubes combined with ZnSO 4 show pH‐dependent fluorescence. PANI hexagonal‐cross‐section microtubes combined with a pH‐sensitive fluorescence may promise potential applications in fields such as chemical sensors and confined reaction vessels. magnified image