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

Low-trace airborne hydrogen (H₂) 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 H₂ sensor engineering is concerned with developing organic-inorganic nanocomposites with controlled morphology and enhanced physicochemical attributes. This unprecedented study reports a chemo-resistive-module H₂ 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 (∼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 H₂ at room temperature compared to pristine WO₃ nanorods/PAni. It demonstrated high performance for room temperature H₂ 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 H₂ 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 H₂ for non-invasive irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) diagnosis and for sensing leaks in portable batteries, hydrogen production and storage industries, and environmental monitoring.