An Exploring potential electrical and LPG sensing properties of Polyaniline-Co3O4 nanocomposite

Polymer nanocomposites are important class of materials in which recent researchers are studied extensively due to their vast range of applications.  Various synthetic methods are available in the literature and much importance is given to scalable processing techniques for sensing applications. The composite of polyaniline (Pn) doped with nanosized cobalt oxide (Pn/Co3O4) was synthesized using a chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline in presence of various weight percentage of Co3O4. The structural and morphological characterizations of the prepared samples were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tool respectively. AC conductivity of the prepared samples was measured using the impedance technique within a frequency range of 10 KHz to 1MHz at room temperature. Additionally, the dc electrical transport property of the composites was experimented within a temperature range of 30-2000C. It was observed that the incorporation of nanosized Co3O4 into the PA matrix had an impact on the ac electrical properties of the samples. The variation in electrical resistance of both Pn and Pn/Co3O4 composites was noted when exposed to 1000 ppm concentration of LPG gas. Both samples exhibited a quick resistance change on exposure to LPG gas with the Pn/Co3O4 composite demonstrating higher sensitivity and suitability for LPG sensing compared to Pn.