Synthesis of polyaniline nanostructures in different lamellar liquid crystals and application to lubrication

Polyaniline (PANI) nanostructures were synthesized in lamellar liquid crystal (LLC) formed by different surfactants. It was found that PANI presented lamellar nanostructures by using the template of LLC formed by ionic surfactant of sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS) or hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), whereas PANI spheric nanostructures were obtained within the LLC template formed by the nonionic surfactant of Triton X-100. The formation mechanisms of PANI nanostructures were discussed. Besides, the lubricating effect of PANI in LLC template was also investigated, and the results showed that spheric PANI had better lubricative performance than lamellar PANI.