Poly(o-anisidine)–polystyrene composite fibers via electrospinning process: Surface morphology and chemical vapor sensing

The electrospinning technique was utilized to produce camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) doped poly(o-anisidine) (POA)–polystyrene (PS) composite fibers in the non-woven mat form with different fiber characteristics, depending on the proportion of components in spinning solutions. CSA doped POA–PS composite fibers were fabricated onto interdigited gold substrates for use as chemical vapor sensors. The resultant composite fiber sensor responded to high polar volatile chemicals by showing a decrease in electrical resistance during the sensing measurement. The sensitivity of the composite fiber sensor when exposed to water vapor was higher than that of the composite fiber sensor subjected to ethanol vapor due to high polarity together with low vapor pressure of water compared with those of ethanol. The surface morphology of the non-woven composite fiber mat after chemical vapor sensing was unchanged. This work opens up the possibility of using the derivatives of polyaniline as a component in composite fibers for chemical sensing applications by taking advantages of their good solubility in common solvents as well as detectable electrical changes in terms of the relatively small amount of composite fibers needed.