Sulfonated Poly(ether ether ketone)/Polypyrrole Core-Shell Nanofibers: A Novel Polymeric Adsorbent/Conducting Polymer Nanostructures for Ultrasensitive Gas Sensors

Conducting polymers-based gas sensors have attracted increasing research attention these years. The introduction of inorganic sensitizers (noble metals or inorganic semiconductors) within the conducting polymers-based gas sensors has been regarded as the generally effective route for further enhanced sensors. Here we demonstrate a novel route for highly-efficient conducting polymers-based gas sensors by introduction of polymeric sensitizers (polymeric adsorbent) within the conducting polymeric nanostructures to form one-dimensional polymeric adsorbent/conducting polymer core-shell nanocomposites, via electrospinning and solution-phase polymerization. The adsorption effect of the SPEEK toward NH3 can facilitate the mass diffusion of NH3 through the PPy layers, resulting in the enhanced sensing signals. On the basis of the SPEEK/PPy nanofibers, the sensors exhibit large gas responses, even when exposed to very low concentration of NH3 (20 ppb) at room temperature.