One-pot synthesis of zinc oxide - polyaniline nanocomposite for fabrication of efficient room temperature ammonia gas sensor

Development of efficient room temperature ammonia (NH3) gas sensor from one pot synthesized zinc oxide (ZnO) - polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposite is reported in the present article. Prior to gas sensing study, the material is characterized to understand the structural, morphological, compositional, optical and thermal properties. Structural and morphological studies indicate good incorporation of ZnO particles in PANI matrix. The gas sensing efficiency of ZnO-PANI nanocomposite is examined at room temperature for ethanol (C2H5OH), methanol (CH3OH) and NH3 gas. The results confirm that ZnO-PANI nanocomposite to be highly selective for NH3 with fast response time and better stability. The response and recovery times are observed to be significantly dependent on NH3 concentration and the lowest detectivity limit of the sensor for NH3 is found 10 ppm. ZnO-PANI nanocomposite shows better gas sensing efficiency as compared to the sensors developed from single phase PANI film.