Novel Ag-Doped- Poly (aniline-co-pyrrole)/Titanium-Dioxide Nanocomposite Sensor Material for Ammonia Detection in Spoiled Meat

Abstract

Silver-doped poly(aniline-co-pyrrole)/titanium dioxide (Ag-doped PANI-PPy/TiO2) conducting copolymer-based nanocomposite ammonia gas sensor was synthesized through in situ chemical oxidative polymerization by taking different amounts (4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, and 8%) of Ag-TiO2 (1:1 ratio) nanoparticles. Zetasizer; dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, transmit ion electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, UV–vis spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and cyclic voltammetry characterization techniques were used to confirm the real formation of nanocomposites and to evaluate the detection performance of the sensor. The interaction sensitivity of the synthesized nanocomposite sensor with ammonia (NH3) was determined by changing the amounts of nanoparticles. Spectroscopic determination exhibited excellent porosity and a better shift in the absorption bands having band gaps (1.87 eV) for the Ag-doped PANI-PPy/TiO2 nanocomposite sensor than the PANI-PPy copolymer (3.17 eV). Morphological (10 μm) and nanoparticle arrangement studies (20 μm) have shown the uniform allocation of nanoparticles in the copolymer matrix when 6% of Ag-TiO 2 (1:1 ratio) was added, while agglomeration occurred when <6% or >6% of Ag-TiO 2 was added to the copolymer. A decrease in the amorphous domain of the copolymer with an increase in nanoparticles was observed from the X-ray diffraction and other results.