Deep impact of the template on molecular weight, structure, and oxidation state of the formed polyaniline.

In this work we find that polyaniline (PANI), synthesized by aniline chemical polymerization at a surface of template polycarbonate (PC) particles, is significantly different in molecular weight, structural order, oxidation state, and conductivity from a neat PANI. Molecular weight of the PANI phase in the composite (Mw = 158,000) is 1.6 times higher than that of the neat PANI synthesized in the absence of the template particles.

The metamorphosis of heterometallic trinuclear antiferromagnetic complexes into nano-sized superparamagnetic spinels.

Thermal decomposition of the trinuclear heterometallic oxoacetates [Fe(2)M(μ(3)-O)(CH(3)COO)(6)(H(2)O)(3)] has been used as a single-precursor method for synthesis of the spinel-structured ternary oxides MFe(2)O(4) (M = Mn(II), Co(II), and Ni(II)). This facile process occurring at 320 °C results in the formation of nanocrystalline, (7-20 nm) highly pure stoichiometric ferrites in quantitative yield. The magnetic properties of these nanoparticulate ferrites were studied in the 10-300 K temperature range, revealing superparamagnetic behaviour for the Ni and Mn particles and ferromagnetic behavior for the Co ones at room temperature.