2. Experimental
2.1. PANI nanofibre synthesis
The reagents for preparation of polyaniline were all AR grade and supplied by E Merck (Germany). For the PANI nanofibre synthesis, 5 mL of 1(M) HCl and 5 mL of 0.5(M) aniline were mixed together in 1:1 ratio. To this solution mixture, 5% solution of the oxidant ammonium persulphate prepared in 1(M) HCl was added drop wise under constant stirring, keeping the temperature of this exothermic reaction mixture cold at around 0–5 ◦C. The resultant precipitate obtained was that of emeraldine salt state of PANI, deep green in color. This precipitate was washed several times with acetone. The polarity of a solvent strongly affects the morphological characteristic of the product, necessitating the acetone wash. Acetone is thought to enhance the interaction among synthesized PANI chain, facilitating
the formation of PANI nanostructures [36]. The precipitate was air dried to get deep green colored emeraldine salt of PANI.