A selective DMSO gas sensor based on nanostructured conducting polypyrrole doped with sulfonate anion

A selective dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) gas sensor based on nanostructured conducting polypyrrole doped with sulfonate anion was constructed. Five sulfonate anions, including HSO3−, para toluene sulfonate (PTS), dodecyl benzene sulfonate (DBS), dodecyl sulfonate (DS) and 5-sulfo salicylate (SS) were used to dope polypyrrole film. Sulfonated doped polypyrrole samples (PPy-S) have been prepared by polymerization of pyrrole on surfaces of the polyester fibers in the presence of an oxidizing agent. The presence of the dopants in the conducting polymer matrix was verified by FT-IR spectroscopy and the morphology of the resulting PPy-S was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of the dopant type and concentrations on the conductivity and response patterns of the PPy-S as a gas sensor to the different gases were studied. The PPy-S gas sensors had demonstrated fast response time (<1 s). The responsivity of the PPy-S gas sensors for various volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was also reported. The PPy-HSO3 exhibit a lowest detection limit to the DMSO and could also be successfully applied as a highly selective sensor for detection of DMSO (DL = 30 ng). Linearity of calibration curve was observed at the range of 0.1–500 μg.