Phenylacetic acid-modified nanofibrous polystyrene membranes for use as highly sensitive ammonia sensors

• Published in: Sensors and actuators. B, Chemical Vol. 212; pp. 273 - 277
• Main Authors: Jia, Yongtang, Yu, Hui, Zhang, Yumei, Chen, Lizhu, Dong, Fengchun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.06.2015
• Subjects: Ammonia; Electrospun nanofibers; Membranes; Microbalances; Nanostructure; Phenylacetic acid; Polystyrene resins; Quartz crystal microbalance; Sensors; Specific surface; Three dimensional; Ammonia; Electrospun nanofibers; Quartz crystal microbalance; Sensors; Phenylacetic acid
• ISSN: 0925-4005; 1873-3077
• DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2015.02.041

•Small molecule modified polymeric nanofibers, as sensing material, was applied to detect ammonia for the first time.•The nanofibrous structured substrate comprising wrinkle-surface electrospun nanofibers, exhibited three-dimensional (3D) structure and large specific surface area (45.81m2/g).•The resultant sensor obtained a low detection limit (1.5ppm) and exhibited a high degree of reproducibility in detecting ammonia. Phenylacetic acid (PA) was selected as the sensing material for the detection of ammonia in gas sensor fabricated by coating PA modified polystyrene (PS) nanofibrous membranes on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) electrode. These membranes were assembled with wrinkled-surface electrospun nanofibers to create a three-dimensional (3D) structure with a large specific surface area of 45.81m2/g. Through FE-SEM imaging, it was revealed that the morphology of the fibers was barely altered after the modification procedure, with FT-IR and DSC analyses confirming that the PA was dispersed on the substrate. This sensor structure exhibited a rapid response combined with a low ammonia detection limit (1.5ppm).