CO gas sensing from ultrathin nano-composite conducting polymer film

New approaches are needed to solve environmental measurement problems associated with mobile sources for the measurements of CO, NOx, aromatic hydrocarbons HC and particulates. There is a need to develop fast, rapid, cost effective, low power, and non-intrusive rugged sensors that can be easily installed. In order to be useful as a sensor, the device and technique should be able to detect the emissions from at relevant low concentrations. Our effort has focused on the use of highly organized ultrathin conducting polymer/metal oxide (SnO2 and/or TiO2) films for sensing of CO gas for the first time. The supramolecular approach has been utilized to fabricate films of conducting materials via in situ layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly technique. We have used UV-vis spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), conductivity and AC impedance measurements to quantify the different characteristics of the ultrathin nanocomposite polymer films to ensure reproducibility, stability and reliability in CO sensing.