Hierarchical graphene–polyaniline nanocomposite films for high-performance flexible electronic gas sensors

Abstract

A hierarchically nanostructured graphene–polyaniline composite film is developed and assembled for a flexible, transparent electronic gas sensor to be integrated into wearable and foldable electronic devices. The hierarchical nanocomposite film is obtained via aniline polymerization in reduced graphene oxide (rGO) solution and simultaneous deposition on flexible PET substrate. The PANI nanoparticles (PPANI) anchored onto rGO surfaces (PPANI/rGO) and the PANI nanofiber (FPANI) are successfully interconnected and deposited onto flexible PET substrates to form hierarchical nanocomposite (PPANI/rGO-FPANI) network films. The assembled flexible, transparent electronic gas sensor exhibits high sensing performance towards NH₃ gas concentrations ranging from 100 ppb to 100 ppm, reliable transparency (90.3% at 550 nm) for the PPANI/rGO-FPANI film (6 h sample), fast response/recovery time (36 s/18 s), and robust flexibility without an obvious performance decrease after 1000 bending/extending cycles. The excellent sensing performance could probably be ascribed to the synergetic effects and the relatively high surface area (47.896 m² g⁻¹) of the PPANI/rGO-FPANI network films, the efficient artificial neural network sensing channels, and the effectively exposed active surfaces. It is expected to hold great promise for developing flexible, cost-effective, and highly sensitive electronic sensors with real-time analysis to be potentially integrated into wearable flexible electronics.