An enhanced flexible room temperature ammonia gas sensor based on GP-PANI/PVDF multi-hierarchical nanocomposite film

Resistive-type polyaniline (PANI) based sensing film was fabricated by a simple in-situ polymerization method with graphene (GP) as additives on flexible porous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) substrate. The fabricated flexible GP-PANI/PVDF membrane demonstrates a multi-hierarchical porous microstructure, enhancing its sensing performance towards ammonia (NH3). The optimized GP-PANI/PVDF sensor shows 60% response towards 1 ppm NH3 with a response time of 46 s, and 10% response towards 0.1 ppm NH3 at 24 degrees C, respectively. Moreover, the GP-PANI/PVDF sensor presents excellent flexibility, exhibiting only small response values' difference upon several bending angles and after 1500 bending/extending cycles. Besides, the GP-PANI/PVDF sensor exhibits a strong linear relationship between the NH3 response values and working temperatures with a range of 24 degrees C similar to 50 degrees C. The results demonstrate that the flexible GP-PANI/PVDF film sensor holds great promise for the application of portable, lightweight, and room temperature sub-ppm level NH3 detection devices.

Automated summary

The resistive-type PANI sensing film with graphene additives on a flexible PVDF substrate shows promising performance for NH3 detection, with high response and fast response time. The sensor exhibits excellent flexibility and stability, maintaining consistent response values even after multiple bending cycles. The linear relationship between NH3 response values and working temperatures suggests potential for portable sub-ppm level NH3 detection devices.