Polyaniline/vanadium pentoxide/lead tetroxide ternary composite for LPG sensing

In the present work, Gas sensing performance of the amalgamated vanadium pentoxide (V 2 O 5 ) and lead tetroxide (Pb 3 O 4 ) in proportionate order with 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 wt% in polyaniline (PANI) ternary composites has been studied. For the study, the samples are synthesized by in situ polymerization technique. The synthesized composites were characterized and confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies. Supporting to gas sensing, AC conductive studies are carried out at room temperature in the frequency ranging from 50 to 1 MHz. The PV3 ternary composite (PANI/ V 2 O 5 + Pb 3 O 4 —30%) has depicted an enhanced conductivity compared to pristine PANI and other ternary composites. The complex plane impedance plots depict good agreement with the conductivity studies. The liquified petroleum gas (LPG) sensing studies are carried out at ambient temperature (29 °C) and at relative humidity of 45%. For the study, the film of all the samples is made using spin coating unit. Among PANI and all the ternary composites, PV3 ternary composite has shown a good variation in resistance. This composite has shown a better sensitivity of 97.05% at 25,000 PPMv level. Along with this, the PV3 ternary composite has depicted an appreciable response time of 29.15 s and a recovery time of 35.26 s. The sensing stability of the composite was also tested for 60 days. The detailed LPG sensing mechanism was discussed deliberately.