High sensitivity ammonia QCM sensor based on ZnO nanoflower assisted cellulose acetate-polyaniline composite nanofibers

A Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) ammonia sensor with ZnO nanoflowers (NFs) doped with cellulose acetate nanofiber (CA) nanofibers and polyaniline-modified nanocomposites (CA/PANI/ZnO) is presented in this paper. The CA/PANI composite was firstly produced by electrostatic spinning and further oxidative polymerization, and then three-dimensional self-assembled ZnO NFs was synthesized by further solvothermal method, and the two were blended to obtain the ternary CA/PANI/ZnO composite with high specific surface area. The morphology and elemental composition of the fabricated composite nanomaterials were tested and analyzed by a series of characterization techniques. The experimental results showed that the QCM sensor based on CA/PANI/ZnO composite nanomaterials at room temperature exhibited good performances over a wide range of ammonia concentrations (1-70 ppm), such as high sensitivity (4.54 Hz/ppm), short response recovery time (15 s/10 s), high linearity and high selectivity. The electrical parameters of the sensor are obtained by the impedance analyzer, and the quality factor is further calculated. The potential synergistic interaction between the com-posites is the key for ammonia adsorption. The results show that the sensor is expected to be a potential candidate for ammonia detection.

Automated summary

This paper presents a Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) ammonia sensor based on ZnO nanoflowers (NFs) doped with cellulose acetate nanofiber (CA) nanofibers and polyaniline-modified nanocomposites (CA/PANI/ZnO). The experimental results show that the QCM sensor based on CA/PANI/ZnO composite nanomaterials exhibits good performances over a wide range of ammonia concentrations (1-70 ppm) at room temperature, including high sensitivity, short response recovery time, high linearity, and high selectivity.