Polyaniline/MWCNT Nanocomposite Based Hydrogen Sensor Operating at Room Temperature

Abstract

A nanocornposite of polyaniline (PANI) and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) has been synthesized and investigated as a sensing material for hydrogen gas at room temperature. The PANI/MWCNT nanocomposite was prepared by in situ chemical polymerization. The nanomaterial characterization was conducted through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). From these data it was concluded that the PANI formed conformal layer with thickness of approximately 7 nm aligned to the outer layer of the MWCNT. A hydrogen sensor was developed by airbrushing the solution over the surface of heated conductometric transducer. The sensor was tested towards different concentrations of hydrogen gas at room temperature. At 1% of H-2 an increase in the sensing film resistance of 112 Omega was observed. The sensor maintained its stable baseline and repeatability during the testing period which makes it useful for commercialization purposes.