Characterization and gas sensitivity study of polyaniline/SnO2 hybrid material prepared by hydrothermal route

A polyaniline (PAni)/SnO2 hybrid material was prepared by a hydrothermal method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The XRD pattern suggested that PAni did not modify the crystal structure of SnO2, but SnO2 affected the crystallization of PAni to some extent. The gas sensitivity of the PAni/SnO2 hybrid was also studied to ethanol and acetone at operation temperatures of 30, 60 and 90 °C. It was found that the PAni/SnO2 hybrid material had gas sensitivity only when operated at 60 and 90 °C, and it showed a linear relationship between the responses and the concentrations of ethanol and acetone at 90 °C. The sensing mechanism was also discussed.