Synthesis And Characterization Of Coaxial Silver/Silica/Polypyrrole Nanocables

Double-shelled coaxial nanocables of silver nanocables with SiO2 and polypyrrole (PPy; Ag/SiO2/PPy) were synthesized by a simple method. The thickness of the outer PPy shell could be controlled by the amount of pyrrole monomer. The silver nanocables encapsulated in the interior of the hollow PPy nanotubes were obtained by the removal of the midlayer SiO2. By the silver-mirror reaction, flowerlike Ag nanostructures could be formed on the surface of the Ag/SiO2/PPy multilayer nanocable. The application of the as-prepared Ag/SiO2/PPy-Ag composites in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was studied with Rhodamine B (Rh B) as a probe molecule. We found that the composites could be used as SERS substrates and that they exhibited excellent enhancement ability. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013