Hydrogen gas sensing based on polyaniline/anatase titania nanocomposite

• A grill-like nanostructure for polyaniline-emeraldine.
• A polyaniline/TiO2 nanocomposite with a porous cylindrical morphology is made of encapsulated anatase TiO2 grains with Pani fibers.
• A high sensitivity, low response/recovery time in different vol% hydrogen gas at ambient conditions.
• A good Long-term response.
• A nonlinear ohmic current versus voltage.

Polyaniline (emeraldine)/anatase TiO2 nanocomposite (PA-NC) was prepared by a chemical oxidative polymerization. The thin films of PA-NC for hydrogen gas sensing application were deposited on Cu-interdigited electrodes by spin coating technique. A study on characteristics of PA-NC thin films was demonstrated by a porous cylindrical morphology. The response and response/recovery time of sensors for hydrogen gas were evaluated by the change of TiO2 wt% at environmental conditions. Resistance-sensing measurement was exhibited a high sensitivity about 1.63, a good Long-term response, low response time and recovery time about 83 s and 130 s, respectively, at 0.8 vol% hydrogen gas for PA-NC including 25% wt of anatase nanoparticles. The current–voltage characteristics of PA-NC gas sensors before and after hydrogen gas injection showed a nonlinear ohmic current. Moreover, we studied the formation of PA-NCs and their hydrogen gas sensing mechanism based on contact regions in PA-NC.

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