Shape‐Controlled Synthesis of Au–Polypyrrole Composites Using Poly(4‐vinylpyridine) Brush Grafted on Graphene Oxide as a Reaction Chamber

Controlling the shape of the conducting polymer‐noble metal composites is a key factor in determining their properties and applications. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel strategy to fabricate Au–polypyrrole (PPy) composites with unusual morphology using poly(4‐vinylpyridine) (P4VP) brush grafted on graphene oxide (GO) as a reaction chamber. When the GO/P4VP brush bearing AuCl 4 − ions is exposed to pyrrole vapor or directly immersed into pyrrole solution, novel Au−PPy nanotubules and flower‐like Au mesoparticles–PPy composites are formed on the surface of GO/P4VP brush, respectively. The application of the as‐prepared GO/P4VP/Au−PPy composites in catalysis and surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) are investigated. The relevant results exhibit that the GO/P4VP/Au−PPy nanotubules can act as an efficient catalyst for reduction of 4‐nitrophenol, and the GO/P4VP/flower‐like Au mesoparticles–PPy composites can be used as a sensor platform for the detection of organic molecules by SERS.