Porous polyaniline tube-like/TiO2 nano-heterostructure for sensing hydrogen gas at environmental conditions

In this study, porous polyaniline tube-like/TiO2 nano-heterostructure (PPTH) was prepared by a chemical oxidative polymerization to be used in H-2 sensing. The surface morphology of polyaniline, the content of one-dimensional TiO2 nanostructures (1D TiO2), and the porosity of PPTH significantly affected the sensing performance of the samples. The response and response/recovery time of gas sensing for H-2 were considered by morphological change of TiO2 at ambient conditions. The p-n contacts between polyaniline matrix and 1D TiO2 provided more active sites and facilitated the electrons transport, hence promoting the physisorption of gas molecules. R20 exhibited the highest sensitivity of 9.05 towards 2500 ppm of H-2 gas at the respective response and recovery times of 94 and 374 s. The sensor designed based on F30 exhibited proper long-term stability after one year. The sensing mechanism of PPTH was also studied in detail. (c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, a porous polyaniline tube-like/TiO2 nano-heterostructure (PPTH) was prepared for H-2 sensing. The surface morphology of polyaniline, the content of one-dimensional TiO2 nanostructures, and the porosity of PPTH were found to significantly affect the sensing performance. The response and response/recovery time of H-2 gas sensing were considered based on the morphological change of TiO2. The p-n contacts between polyaniline matrix and one-dimensional TiO2 provided more active sites and facilitated electron transport, enhancing the physisorption of gas molecules.