Synthesis of 1-D ZnO nanorods and polypyrrole/1-D ZnO nanocomposites for photocatalysis and gas sensor applications

1-D ZnO nanorods and PPy/1-D ZnO nanocomposites were prepared by the surfactant-assisted precipitation and in situ polymerization method, respectively. The synthesized nanorods and nanocomposites were characterized by UV–Vis spectrophotometer, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), which gave the evidence of 1-D ZnO nanorods, polymerization of pyrrole monomer and strong interaction between PPy and 1-D ZnO nanorods, respectively. Photocatalytic activity of 1-D ZnO nanorods was conducted by 3³ level full-factorial design to evaluate the effect of three independent process variables viz., dye concentration (crystal violet), catalyst concentration (1-D ZnO nanorods) and the reaction time on the preferred response: photodegradation efficiency (%). The PPy/1-D ZnO nanocomposites were used for the sensing of NH₃, LPG, CO₂ and H₂S gases, respectively, at room temperature. It was observed that PPy/1-D ZnO nanocomposites with different 1-D ZnO nanorod weight ratios (15 and 25%) had better selectivity and sensitivity towards NH₃ at room temperature.