Effects of thickness, dopant type and doping levels of flexible nanoscale polyaniline films on responses to gases

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While doped nanoscale (sub-100 nm) polyaniline films have shown interesting behavior with respect to electrical conductivities and thermal sensing, there has been scant attention to responses of such films to gases. In this work, a detailed study on the effects of film thicknesses, doping levels and dopant types on the responses to different gases is presented. The responses to NO2 were higher than to NO and NH3, and the films were unresponsive to N2, O2, CO2 and H2. The responses to NO2 and NH3 increased with decrease in film thickness below about 50 nm and were prominent at lower doping levels, and also were dependent on the type of dopant used. Explanations for the experimental observations were provided based on energy considerations. The modulation of the calculated LUMO levels and band gaps, and the Fermi energy levels at lower film thicknesses and doping levels correlated well with the responses. As the transfer of electrons resulting in the formation of the charge complex depends on the difference between the Fermi level of the film and the Mulliken electronegativity of the gas molecules, this difference in the energy levels also correlated with the effects of different gases and different dopants. Limited tests on the effect of water vapor were conducted.