Growth and toxic gas sensing properties of poly(urethaneimide) thin films

• Extensive nanoscale characterization of the surface of copolymer.
• Gas molecules diffusion and interaction with a polymeric studies film by QCM.
• Use of PUI as material to develop sensor for the detection of highly toxic gases.

In this work we present a study on the growth and the gas sensing properties of poly(urethane imide) thin films. We first deeply characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) the nanostructuration of the poly(urethane imide) holding different amine groups. We further studied the interaction between highly toxic gases such as hexamethyleneimine (HMI) and pyridine and the polymer by using an unconventional method based on Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) measurement. We showed for the first time that weak interactions, i.e. hydrogen bonding between the gas molecules and the polymer film allow the diffusion of the gas molecule deep in the polymeric film and the recovery of the film once the gas molecules leave the sensor. This first work paves a new way for the design of a completely recoverable sensor able to detect highly toxic gases for environmental concern.

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