Sensing behavior of the polypyrrole and polyaniline sensor for several volatile organic compounds

The sensing characteristics of conducting polymers to several volatile organic compounds were investigated with a UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer, dynamic contact angles measurement and scanning probe microscopy (SPM). When gases were absorbed, the polypyrrole (PPy) and polyaniline (PANi) exhibited positive and negative sensitivity, respectively. The PPy-based sensor demonstrated decreasing conductivity while the PANi sensor exhibited increasing conductivity when the polarity of the molecules absorbed increased. PPy film has an hydrophilic property while the PANi film a hydrophobic one. These changes in polymer conductivity, it is speculated, are due to the interruption of free carrier movement or the generation of polarons by the absorbed molecules.