A highly ordered copper(II) phthalocyanine-3,4',4",4"'-tetrasulfonic acid, tetrasodium salt (CuPcTs)/4,4'-dipyridyl dihydrochloride (DPDCH) nanotube array was successfully fabricated by the layer-by-layer self-assembly technique using micropore anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) as templates. The assembly process of the nanotube array was investigated by UV-Vis spectrometry, XRD and FT-IR, and the morphology of the nanotubes was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The results have indicated that the deposition equilibrium time values of the first layer CuPcTs and the second layer DPDCH on the AAO template are both around 60 min. The deposition process includes three stages in series: fast deposition on the template surface, controlled diffusion inside the pores and controlled deposition on the porous surface. The SO₃ group of CuTsPc is adsorbed at the Lewis acid site of the AAO template. The obtained CuTsPc/DPDCH nanotubes are of non-crystallinity, with the outer diameter and the wall thickness of 200 and 20 nm, respectively. The diameter of the nanotubes depends on the size and length of the template pores while the wall thickness is determined by the self-assembly layers of CuTsPc/DPDCH. This method can also be applied to the preparation of other nanotubes or nanorods of short-chain functional molecular couples with opposite charges.

Key words: layer-by-layer self-assembly, AAO template, nanotube