High-performance H₂ sensor based on Polyaniline-WO₃ nanocomposite for portable batteries and breathomics-diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome

Low-trace airborne hydrogen (H-2) detection at room temperature is a prerequisite in designing sensors for portable batteries and breathomics-based diagnosis of human diseases/disorders. The state-of-the-art H-2 sensor engineering is concerned with developing organic-inorganic nanocomposites with controlled morphology and enhanced physicochemical attributes. This unprecedented study reports a chemo-resistive-module H-2 sensor based on polyaniline-tungsten oxide (PAni-WO3) nanocomposite fabricated through a facile and economic one-pot polymerization route. The morphological and structural analysis revealed the formation of nanocomposite consisting of WO3 nanorods (similar to 100 nm diameter) dispersed in the PAni matrix consists of particles with size around 200 nm. The PAni-WO3 chemiresistor exhibited a 5-fold enhanced performance towards one ppm of H-2 at room temperature compared to pristine WO3 nanorods/PAni. It demonstrated high performance for room temperature H-2 detection in terms of low detection limit (1 ppm), high sensitivity, prompt response, fast recovery, and high repeatability. Besides, the fabricated sensor is highly selective and stable for H-2 monitoring in capricious environmental conditions (in varying humidity, temperature and interfering analytes). The well-engineered nanocomposite system possessing rational morphology has latent for real-time monitoring of low-trace human breath-borne H-2 for non-invasive irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) diagnosis and for sensing leaks in portable batteries, hydrogen production and storage industries, and environmental monitoring.(c) 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.