Synthesis and characterization of SiO2/polyaniline/Ag core–shell particles and studies of their electrical and hemolytic properties: multifunctional core–shell particles

Abstract

Three layers of conducting core–shell nanocomposite particles composed of SiO₂/polyaniline (PAni)/Ag were prepared in the presence of silicon dioxide (SiO₂) in an aqueous solution containing sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate (SDBS) as a surfactant. SiO₂ nanoparticles were coated by PAni, which results in the formation of core–shell nanocomposites. Silver nanoparticles were synthesized by a citrate reduction method. Ag nanoparticles could be electrostatically attracted onto the surface of SiO₂/PAni nanocomposites, leading to the formation of SiO₂/PAni/Ag nanocomposites with a core–shell structure. The products were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), current–voltage (I–V) analysis and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The resultant nanocomposites have good biological properties.