Chemical-resistant ammonia sensor based on polyaniline/CuO nanoparticles supported on three-dimensional nitrogen-doped graphene-based framework nanocomposites

Fatemeh Ahmadi Tabar; Alireza Nikfarjam; Negar Tavakoli; Jaber Nasrollah Gavgani; Mojtaba Mahyari; Seyed Ghorban Hosseini

doi:10.1007/s00604-020-04282-y

Chemical-resistant ammonia sensor based on polyaniline/CuO nanoparticles supported on three-dimensional nitrogen-doped graphene-based framework nanocomposites

Mikrochim Acta. 2020 Apr 28;187(5):293. doi: 10.1007/s00604-020-04282-y.

Authors

Fatemeh Ahmadi Tabar¹, Alireza Nikfarjam², Negar Tavakoli¹, Jaber Nasrollah Gavgani³, Mojtaba Mahyari⁴, Seyed Ghorban Hosseini⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Polymer Engineering and Color Technology, Amirkabir University of Technology, P.O. Box 15875-4413, Tehran, Iran.
² Faculty of New Science & Technologies, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 14399-57131, Tehran, Iran.
³ Department of Polymer Engineering and Color Technology, Amirkabir University of Technology, P.O. Box 15875-4413, Tehran, Iran. jnasrollah@aut.ac.ir.
⁴ Malek-Ashtar University of Technology, P.O. Box 16765-3454, Tehran, Iran. m_mahyari@mut.ac.ir.
⁵ Malek-Ashtar University of Technology, P.O. Box 16765-3454, Tehran, Iran.

PMID: 32347392
DOI: 10.1007/s00604-020-04282-y

Abstract

A novel ammonia (NH₃) chemical sensor is presented with ultra-high response, good selectivity, fast response, and long-term stability using detecting layer of polyaniline/cupric oxide nanoparticles supported on three-dimensional nitrogen-doped graphene-based frameworks (PANI/CuO@3D-NGF) nanocomposite. The NH₃ gas sensing response of the PANI/CuO@3D-NGF nanocomposite was studied by resistivity method in low concentration range of 50 ppb-100 ppm at room temperature. The PANI/CuO@3D-NGF nanocomposite was prepared through in situ polymerization of PANI on the CuO@3D-NGF with a high surface area. Morphological and structural analysis revealed that the ultrathin 3D interconnected graphene substrate maximizes the surface area. It is also shown that the CuO nanoparticles offer active adsorption sites for free NH₃ molecule. The PANI/CuO@3D-NGF nanocomposite gas sensor shows the response of 930% to 100 ppm NH₃ with an outstanding low detection limit of 50 ppb and an average response time of 30 s at room temperature. The excellent sensing performance of the PANI/CuO@3D-NGF nanocomposite was attributed to 3D interconnected porous structure, remarkable enhancement of charge carriers as a result of CuO@3D-NGF, and modified π-interactions between molecules. Graphical abstract.

Keywords: Ammonia; Gas sensor; Graphene; Polyaniline.