Synthesis and characterization of a polyaniline/silver nanocomposite for the determination of formaldehyde

A polyaniline/silver nanocomposite was prepared through in situ polymerization and used to determine formaldehyde vapor. The prepared nanocomposite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The responses of the nanocomposite were much higher than using pure polyaniline. The nanocomposite exhibited good linearity versus gas concentration with a reproducible response. The limit of detection for the 25% silver nanocomposite was approximately 1.24 ppm.