Fabrication and characterization of ZnO-TiO2-PANI (ZTP) micro/nanoballs for the detection of flammable and toxic gases

The present paper reports the in-situ chemical polymerization of nanocomposites thin film composed by titanium dioxide (TiO2), zinc oxide (ZnO) and polyaniline (PANI). It was found that nanocomposites sensor is highly selective and shows response to low concentration. To improve the sensing response characteristics of ZT thin film, PANI is incorporated. Thin film based LPG sensor of ZnO-TiO2-PANI composite was fabricated by spin coating of ZnO-TiO2 nanoparticles doped with PANI over inter digital electrodes (IDES). The thin film was characterized by using XRD, SEM, TEM, UV-vis, BET and FTIR. It was also tested for gas sensing properties of LPG/NO2 which are well known flammable and toxic gases. The measured response for ZnO-TiO2-PANI based sensor was 87 for 2000 ppm of LPG and 412 for 20 ppm of NO2 at room temperature towards other testing gases together with Acetone, IPA, NH3 and CO2.