Formation of nanostructured composites with environmentally-dependent electrical properties based on poly(vinylidene fluoride)-polyaniline core-shell latex system

Submicron poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/polyaniline (PANI) core-shell latex particles are synthesized and examined as an active component in a simple conductometric chemical sensor. The structure and physical properties of these particles and nanostructured composite PVDF-PANI polymer films built of them are characterized with transmission electron, atomic force, and helium ion microscopy techniques, differential scanning calorimetry, and conductivity measurements. The nanostructured composite films with conductivity of about 4 × 10−4 S/cm suitable for sensor applications are prepared by casting from the core-shell particles dispersions on glass substrates patterned with silver electrodes followed by annealing at 180 °C, i.e. above Tm of the PVDF component. Sensor properties of these films are tested by measuring current-voltage (I-V) characteristics in response to varying concentration of NH3 or HCl vapors. The developed thin film sensor heterostructures with electrically conductive percolation network of PANI as an active component and employing the conductometric detection scheme show high sensitivity to both analytes. However, the polymer material is especially efficient for application to NH3 sensing with the detection limit as low as 100 ppb, and good reproducible recovery behavior upon repeated exposure to NH3 at ambient conditions.