Synthesis, swift heavy ion irradiation and characterization of conducting polymer based nanostructured materials for biomedical and sensor applications

The path-breaking discovery of high conductivity in polyacetylene in 1977 by A. J. Heeger, A. G. MacDiarmid and H. Shirakawa opened up a whole new field of research, which won them the Noble prize in the year 2000. Since then the field of conducting polymers has undergone tremendous developments and a wide range of commercial applications have evolved. Conducting polymers have found applications in different areas such as microelectronics, sensors, electrodes for batteries and supercapacitors, EMI shielding etc. Conducting polymers are also being considered for a range of biomedical applications including the development of artificial muscles, controlled drug release and the stimulation of nerve regeneration. Recently, one dimensional (1D) nanostructures such as nanofibers, nanowires, nanorods, nanobelts, and nanotubes have attracted considerable attention of the scientific community owing to their unique applications in mesoscopic physics and fabrication of nanoscale devices. 1D nanostructures are ideal systems for investigating the dependence of electrical, thermal and mechanical properties on quantum confinement and dimensionality. 1D conducting polymer nanostructures deserve a special mention mainly because they combine the advantages of organic conductors with low dimensionality. Among the family of π-conjugated polymers, polyaniline is especially attractive and have been investigated by several research groups worldwide mainly because of its unique properties like good environmental stability, solubility and simple acid/base doping/dedoping chemistry, making it a promising material for a wide range of applications. Polyaniline nanostructures have been synthesized by using templates such as surfactants, micelles or seeds. One-dimensional (1D) polyaniline nanostructures including nanorods, nanotubes and nanofibers, have also been studied as these nanostructured materials are expected to perform better wherever there is an interaction between the material and the surrounding environment. 1D Polyaniline nanostructures have been used in different