Gas Dielectric Transistor of CuPc Single Crystalline Nanowire for SO2 Detection Down to Sub‐ppm Levels at Room Temperature

Abstract

Sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) is one of the most dangerous air pollutants that impair environment and human health. SO 2 in air is released during the burning of fossil fuels and plays one major role in the formation of acid rain. The repeated exposure to low levels of SO 2 can cause permanent pulmonary impairment for humans. [ 1 ] The long and short-term exposure limits for SO 2 gas are 2 and 5 ppm, respectively, [ 1 , 2 ] and the U. S. Environmental Control Agency has set the acceptable limit for SO 2 in ambient air at a level of 0.5 ppm. [ 3 ] It is of great importance to measure low concentration of SO 2 in air accurately and fast for human health protection and air-quality monitoring. Semiconductor resistor sensors are, for more than 30 years, one of the most common used gas sensors to detect toxic and fl ammable gases such as NO 2 , H 2 S, CO, NH 3 , and H 2 because of their distinguished merits such as low cost, long lasting, high sensitivity, and good reliability, etc. [ 4 ] Organic fi eld-effect transistor (OFET) is another alternative semiconductor sensing technology with advantages over resistors, and has attracted much attention only recently. [ 5 ] The sensitivity can be dramatically enhanced by changing the source-drain current ( I SD ) of OFET when operating the sensors in the sub-threshold regime, as a result of the current modulation by the extra gate electrode. [ 6 ] Another advantage of OFET sensors is that the sensing response can be enhanced by integrating them in oscillator and adaptive amplifi er circuits. [ 7 ] These advantages combined with low cost and light weight of organic semiconductors ensure that OFET sensors have attracted much attention for the detection of a wide range of gases. [ 8 ]