A facile strategy to decorate Cu9S5 nanocrystals on polyaniline nanowires and their synergetic catalytic properties

Here, we demonstrated a novel method to decorate Cu₉S₅ nanocrystals on polyaniline (PANI) nanowires using the dopant of mercaptoacetic acid (MAA) in the PANI matrix as the sulfur source under a hydrothermal reaction. TEM images showed that Cu₉S₅ nanocrystals with a size in the range of 5-20 nm were uniformly formed on the surface of PANI nanowires. Significantly, the as-prepared PANI/Cu₉S₅ composite nanowires have been proven to be novel peroxidase mimics toward the oxidation of the peroxidase substrate 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of H₂O₂. Due to the synergetic effects between polyaniline nanowires and Cu₉S₅ nanocrystals, the obtained PANI/Cu₉S₅ composite nanowires exhibit superior catalytic activity over the independent components. This work not only presents a simple and versatile method to decorate semiconductor nanocrystals on the surface of conducting polymer nanostructures, but also provides fundamental guidelines for further investigations into the synergetic effect between conducting polymers and other materials.