Effect of In.sub.2O.sub.3 nanofiber structure on the ammonia sensing performances of In.sub.2O.sub.3/PANI composite nanofibers

• Published in: Journal of materials science 2017-01, Vol.52 (2), p.686
• Main Authors: Pang, Zengyuan, Nie, Qingxin, Wei, Anfang, Yang, Jie, Huang, Fenglin, Wei, Qufu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ammonia; Sensors; X-ray diffraction
• ISSN: 0022-2461; 1573-4803
• DOI: 10.1007/s10853-016-0362-1

Indium oxide/polyaniline (In.sub.2O.sub.3/PANI) composite nanofibers with the solid or hollow structure of In.sub.2O.sub.3 were successfully synthesized via a facile and efficient combined method of electrospinning, high-temperature calcination, and in situ polymerization. Various techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, Fourier transform infrared, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction, were employed to acquire the morphological, structural, and crystalline information of the prepared samples. The gas sensing performances of the as-obtained composite nanofibers were investigated by a home-made gas sensing test system at room temperature. All the results demonstrated that both solid and hollow In.sub.2O.sub.3/PANI composite nanofibers had higher response values than those of pure PANI sensor. In addition, the ammonia sensing properties of hollow In.sub.2O.sub.3/PANI composite nanofibers were much better than that of the solid ones. Furthermore, hollow In.sub.2O.sub.3/PANI composite nanofibers also showed ideal repeatability and selectivity due to their more and different types of P-N heterojunctions.