Ultra-sensitive polyaniline–iron oxide nanocomposite room temperature flexible ammonia sensor

• Published in: RSC advances 2015-01, Vol.5 (84), p.68964-68971
• Main Authors: Bandgar, D. K., Navale, S. T., Naushad, M., Mane, R. S., Stadler, F. J., Patil, V. B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ammonia; Diffraction; Low concentrations; Nanostructure; Nitrogen dioxide; Polyethylene terephthalates; Sensors; X-rays
• ISSN: 2046-2069; 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/C5RA11512D

A novel flexible, ultra-sensitive, selective, and room temperature operable polyaniline/iron-oxide (PAni/α-Fe 2 O 3 ) nanocomposite ammonia (NH 3 ) gas sensor was developed onto a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate by in situ polymerization process. The observations were recorded to 100 ppm fixed level for various gases including NO 2, CH 3 OH, C 2 H 5 OH, NH 3 , and H 2 S through monitoring the change in resistance of the developed sensor. The flexible PAni/α-Fe 2 O 3 nanocomposite sensor demonstrated better selectivity towards NH 3 (response = 39% and stability = 74%). The synergistic response of the flexible PAni/α-Fe 2 O 3 sensor was remarkable than that of the PAni and α-Fe 2 O 3 alone; indicating the effective improvement in the performance of PAni flexible sensor on nanocomposite process. Moreover, the flexible sensor detected NH 3 at low concentration (5 ppm) with a fast response (27 s) and very short recovery time (46 s). Further, PAni/α-Fe 2 O 3 flexible sensor films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, UV-visible and Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron for structural analysis, morphological evolution, optical and surface related studies.