High performance tube sensor based on PANI/Eu3+ nanofiber for low-volume NH3 detection.

A novel polyaniline (PANI)/Eu3+ nanofiber sensing film was prepared in the presence of Eu(NO3)3 which serves as structure-directed agent. The morphological, component, crystallinity and electrochemical properties were carried out by using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) techniques. The results indicated the nanofiber-like network with porous structure appeared in the PANI embedded by Eu3+ ions, thereby leading to large specific surface area. Furthermore, the PANI/Eu3+ nanofibers were grown onto the inner wall of capillary glass to form the tube sensor. By the sensing measurements, this tube sensor enabled the detection of low-volume (0.3 mL) NH3 for response 435% at concentration of 0.25 ppm with a short response time (5 s) and recovery time (5 s), and the performances of reproducibility and selectivity were also excellent. The above results demonstrated the potential application of PANI/Eu3+ tube sensor for low-volume NH3 gas.

Sodium citrate doped polypyrrole/PS glass capillary tube sensor for ultra-small volume HCl gas detection.

A sodium citrate (SC) doped polypyrrole (PPy)/PS capillary sensor was prepared for ultra-small volume HCl gas detection. A PS film was formed in advance on the inner wall of a silica glass capillary tube, which enabled us to prepare a high-qualified PPy sensitive film inside the tube. The crystallinity, morphology, microstructure and carrier transport properties of the PPy film were characterized by XRD, SEM, FTIR and Hall effect system, respectively. The results indicated that the as-prepared tube sensor sample was able to detect 0.2 mL 30 ppm HCl gas while the plane-shaped PPy/PS sensor failed to probe. The improvement of sensing properties was attributed to the trend of crystallinity, pore (or gap) morphology and the long-narrow gas cell. The tube-like gas cell and the featured PPy/PS film of the tube sample contribute to sensing the small volume of HCl gas, which may be applied in breath analysis for potential nonintrusive disease diagnosis.