Self-assembly of random networks of zirconium-doped manganese oxide nanoribbons and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) flakes at the water/chloroform interface

Owing to their magnificent chemical and physical properties, transition metal-based heterostructures are potential materials for applications ranging from point-of-care diagnostics to sustainable energy technologies. The cryptomelane-type octahedral molecular sieves (K-OMS-2) are extensively studied porous materials with a hollandite (2 × 2 tunnel of dimensions 4.6 × 4.6 Ų) structure susceptible to the isovalent substitution of metal cations at the framework of MnO₆ octahedral chains. Here we report a facile in situ synthesis of framework-level zirconium (Zr)-doped K-OMS-2 nanoribbons in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanoflakes at a water/chloroform interface at ambient conditions. An oxidant system of KMnO₄ and ZrOCl₂·8H₂O initiated the polymerisation at temperatures ranging from 5° to 50 °C. The lattice distortions arising from the framework-level substitution of Mn⁴⁺ by Zr⁴⁺ in the K-OMS-2 structure were evidenced with powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and N₂ adsorption–desorption studies. Transmission electron microscopic and mapping images confirmed that PEDOT/Zr-K-OMS-2 comprises a highly crystalline random network of two-dimensional PEDOT flakes and Zr-doped K-OMS-2 nanoribbons. In this regard, the proposed interfacial strategy affirms an in situ method for the morphological tuning of heterostructures on polymer supports at low temperatures.