Room temperature highly sensitive chlorine sensor based on reduced graphene oxide anchored with substituted copper phthalocyanine

The development of low cost, efficient and reversible chemiresistive sensors is one of the future challenges for the detection of harmful and toxic gases. In this direction, the effect of anchoring of hexadecafluorinated copper phthalocyanine (F16CuPc) molecules on to the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets has been investigated for the first time, to develop a room-temperature chemiresistive sensor that can efficiently detect chlorine (Cl-2) even down to few parts per billion (ppb) level. The rGO/F16CuPc hybrid materials characterized by X-ray photo-electron, Raman, Fourier transform infrared and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy techniques indicated the presence of a strong synergetic interaction between the F16CuPc molecule and rGO sheet. Besides, scanning electron microscopic studies revealed that F16CuPc molecules assembled to form nano-flower type structures on rGO sheets. Under optimal conditions, the as-fabricated sensor exhibited improved response/recovery characteristics in comparison to its unsubstituted rGO/CuPc counterpart. The significant improvement in gas sensing characteristics has been independently verified by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique.

Automated summary

By anchoring F16CuPc molecules onto rGO sheets, a room-temperature chemiresistive sensor capable of efficiently detecting chlorine gas has been developed, with a significant improvement in gas sensing characteristics confirmed through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.