Fabrication and humidity sensing property of UV/ozone treated PANI/PMMA electrospun fibers

In this study, the fibers consisted of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polyaniline (PANI) were fabricated by electrospinning method to detect relative humidity (RH). Moreover, various concentrations of PANI/PMMA were prepared and modified by UV/ozone treatment to increase the sensitivity of relative humidity. The characteristics of the PANI/PMMA electrospun fibers were measured by Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, respectively. By the result of PANI/PMMA fibers extinction change with 30 min UV/ozone treatment, the sensor showed the highest sensitivity. In addition, the sensitivity for detecting RH increased as RH increased from 33 to 98% at room temperature. The experimental results revealed that at 2.0 wt% concentration, the PANI/PMMA fibers had better response, better sensing performance, and showed a clearer indicator compared to other PANI/PMMA concentrations.