Graphene/Polyaniline Nanocomposite for Hydrogen Sensing

Abstract

Here we report on the synthesis of a graphene/polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposite and its application in the development of a hydrogen (H₂) gas sensor. Using a chemical synthetic route, graphene was prepared and ultrasonicated with a mixture of aniline monomer and ammonium persulfate to form PANI on its surface. The developed material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The SEM study revealed that the PANI in the composite has a nanofibrillar morphology. We investigated the H₂ gas sensing performance of this material and compare it with that of the sensors based on only graphene sheets and PANI nanofibers. We found that the graphene/PANI nanocomposite-based device sensitivity is 16.57% toward 1% of H₂ gas, which is much larger than the sensitivities of sensors based on only graphene sheets and PANI nanofibers.