Gas sensor arrays based on polymer-carbon black to detect organic vapors at low concentration

A novel chemical gas sensor array composed of polymer-carbon black is successfully fabricated. Poly(4-vinyl phenol) (PVPH), poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), polycaprolactone (PCL) mixed with carbon black 2000 are employed as the sensing materials which are immobilized on the array of the interdigitated microelectrode pairs. The resistance changes with the organic gases (acetone, ethanol, toluene, methanol Tetrahydrofuran) and their mixed gases at low concentration have been examined. By the pattern recognition analysis of the responses of microsensors, five single gases and their mixed gases can be easily identified at the concentrations between 200 and 2000 ppm. The measurement data show that this configuration of interdigitated microelectrodes is a good choice to detect the low concentration of organic gases