Nanostructured Polyaniline Sensors

TLDR

Polyaniline, a conjugated polymer whose conductivity is highly sensitive to chemical vapors, is a promising material for sensor applications. The study develops a template‑free chemical synthesis to produce uniform polyaniline nanofibers with diameters below 100 nm. The synthesis employs interfacial polymerization, enabling gram‑scale production of these nanofibers. Polyaniline nanofibers show superior sensor performance, outperforming conventional materials in acid or base vapor detection, with sensitivity independent of thickness due to their high surface area.

Abstract

The conjugated polymer polyaniline is a promising material for sensors, since its conductivity is highly sensitive to chemical vapors. Nanofibers of polyaniline are found to have superior performance relative to conventional materials due to their much greater exposed surface area. A template-free chemical synthesis is described that produces uniform polyaniline nanofibers with diameters below 100 nm. The interfacial polymerization can be readily scaled to make gram quantities. Resistive-type sensors made from undoped or doped polyaniline nanofibers outperform conventional polyaniline on exposure to acid or base vapors, respectively. The nanofibers show essentially no thickness dependence to their sensitivity.