Efficient ammonia sensing over zinc oxide/polyaniline nanocomposite

Zinc oxide/polyaniline (ZnO/PANI) nanocomposite film is prepared by a chemical method using CuSO4 as redox initiator. The nanocomposite is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and TG techniques. X-ray diffraction studies of the composite show the reflection of ZnO nanoparticles along with a broad peak of PANI. FTIR and UV-visible spectra show interaction between ZnO and PANI. Current-voltage measurements (I-V curves) show that ZnO/ PANI has much higher electrical conductivity than pure PANI. The ammonia gas sensing behavior of the ZnO/PANI nanocomposite films is studied and the results show that it is a promising candidate for ammonia sensing with response time of 15 s and recovery time 45 s.