A new type low-cost, flexible and wearable tertiary nanocomposite sensor for room temperature hydrogen gas sensing

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 2151
• Main Authors: Punetha, Deepak, Kar, Manoranjan, Pandey, Saurabh Kumar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 07.02.2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 140/133; 639/925/927/511; 704/844/4081; Chromium; Crystal structure; Electrical properties; Evaporation; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hydrogen; Morphology; multidisciplinary; Nanocomposites; Physical characteristics; Polymers; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sensors; Tin; Tin oxide
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-58965-w

This paper reports on reduced graphene oxide (rGO), tin oxide (SnO 2 ) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) tertiary nanocomposite thick film based flexible gas sensor. The nanocomposite of 0.90(PVDF) − 0.10[x(SnO 2 ) − (1 − x)rGO] with different weight percentages (x = 0, 0.15, 0.30, 0.45, 0.6, 0.75, 0.90 and 1) have been prepared by the hot press method. Chromium (Cr) has been deposited on the surface by using E-beam evaporation system, which is used as electrode of the device. Crystal structure, morphology, and electrical characteristics of the device have been explored for the technological application. A correlation between crystallinity, morphology, and electrical properties with these thick films has also been established. The device has been tested at different hydrogen (H 2 ) gas concentration as well as at different response times. A superior response of 0.90(PVDF) − 0.10[0.75(SnO 2 ) − 0.25 rGO] nanocomposite thick film has been observed. Hence, this composition is considered as optimized tertiary nanocomposite for the hydrogen gas sensor application. The sensor response of 49.2 and 71.4% with response time 34 sec and 52 sec for 100 PPM and 1000 PPM H 2 gas concentration respectively have been obtained. First time a new kind of low cost and flexible polymer based nanocomposite thick film gas sensor has been explored.