title: Self-catalytic polymerization of a water-soluble selenium/polypyrrole nanocomposite and its nonlinear optical properties.
abstract: A facile one-step method for the synthesis of a water-soluble selenium/polypyrrole (Se/PPy) nanocomposite was developed. In the aqueous synthesis process, the pyrrole acted as a reductant for the reduction of H2SeO3, and then the elemental Se formed in situ acted as a catalyst for the polymerization of pyrrole. The characterization results show that the as-obtained composite (Se/PPy) is a spherical (Φ80 nm) product that is made up of amorphous Se particles coated by PPy layers. The formation mechanism and influence factors of the products were discussed, based on a series of experiments. It is proposed that remainder H2SeO3 adsorbed on the PPy chains increased the water-solubility and conductivity of the Se/PPy nanocomposite. Significantly, relying on the synergistic effect of photo-conductive Se nanoparticles and electric-conductive PPy molecules, the Se/PPy nanocomposite possesses a large two-photon absorption (2PA) cross-section and good optical limiting properties, which were demonstrated by the Z-scan technique using a femtosecond laser. We believe that this work should be an interesting strategy for developing polymer composites with excellent optoelectrical properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry of Anhui Province, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China. syzhangi@126.com yptian@ahu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.forename: Xiaomei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shengyi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shengli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Changjie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Helin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Jiming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Yupeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D055620:Optical Phenomena; D010316:Particle Size; D058105:Polymerization; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D011758:Pyrroles / Q000737:chemistry*; D012643:Selenium / Q000737:chemistry*; D012995:Solubility; D013499:Surface Properties; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D011758:Pyrroles; D014867:Water; C067635:polypyrrole; D012643:Selenium