Air pollution in conurbations has led to serious economic, social and health problems. Among the harmful environmental gases, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) have an adverse impact on human health, particularly related to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Therefore, accurate, cost-effective mean of monitoring and detecting NO2 is of paramount importance. In this study, NO2 gas sensors based on organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) using the vertical phase separation of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) blended with polystyrene (PS) as a semiconductor and dielectric layer were fabricated. An optimized P3HT/PS blend ratio of 1:50 exhibited the best performance to various concentrations of NO2, which is comparable to that of pure P3HT. The results showed the percentage responses of saturation current were 1330% and 83% under 15 ppm NO2, respectively. By analyzing the morphologies of blend films and the electrical characteristics of devices, it was found that the film of P3HT blended with PS has more interface to interact with NO2, resulting in more efficient detection to NO2 even in the range of low concentration. In addition, the device exhibited the superior stability under ambient atmosphere for 40 days.

Self-stratified poly(3-hexylthiophene)/ polystyrene (P3HT/PS) blends based organic thin-film transistor nitrogen dioxide gas sensors

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.