Poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanospheres synthesized using a micelle soft template associated with cuprous oxide

PEDOT nanospheres with an average diameter of about 100nm were chemically synthesized using APS as the oxidant in the presence of SDBS and Cu ₂O, respectively. It was found that Cu₂O is crucial to forming uniform PEDOT nanospheres because only granular PEDOT was obtained in the absence of Cu₂O. It is proposed that the PEDOT nanospheres are self-assembled by a cooperation effect of SDBS as the micelle softtemplate and Cu₂O as the stabilizer of the spherical micelles. Additionally, the PEDOT nanospheres are soluble in some organic solvents, such as THF, DMF and DMSO, which is of benefit for fabrication of electronic and photonic devices.