Abstract
Polyaniline in its emeraldine salt form was obtained by chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline monomer. PANi thus obtained was mixed with tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) nano powder in 50 wt% to get PANi-Ta2O5 nanocomposite. The nanocomposite was further mixed with Camphor Sulphonic Acid (CSA) with concentrations of 20wt%, 30wt% and 40wt% respectively for solid-state doping. All the samples were characterized by FESEM, TEM, XRD, FTIR and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Thin film sensor device was developed taking each of the samples as the sensing material to study the gas sensing properties towards NO2 gas at room temperature. The CSA doped nanocomposite possessed highly aggregated globular morphology that led to high surface area. Doping of CSA notably favored the gas sensing process. PANi-Ta2O5-CSA40wt% exhibited the best performance with sensor response above 80% towards 500 ppm NO2, a faster response time of 55 seconds and a recovery time of 160 seconds. The device showed good repeatability and high selectivity to NO2. The sensor response was studied under 38%, 57% and 65% relative humidity conditions respectively and it was found to remain stable under different humidity levels.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
