Tubular and twisted Ni-P fibers molded from morphology-tunable and recyclable organic templates of hydrogen-bonded supramolecular assemblages

The preparation of tubular and twisted Ni-P fibers from morphologically controlled and organic templates of hydrogen-bonded supramolecular assemblages, was investigated. The fibrous molecular assemblages were prepared from azopyridine carboxylic acids (APC). The Ni-P electroless plating on the fibrous molecular assemblages was performed by immersing them for 24 h in an acidic solution at pH of about 2.5. An X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the surface adsorption of Pd²⁺ species on the fibrous molecular assemblages in the electroless-plating procedure. The results show that fibrous molecular assemblages of APCs should be applicable to prepare metallic microtubes of other metal species of Pd-promoted electroless plating.