Abstract
The use of graphene and its derivatives with excellent characteristics such as good electrical and mechanical properties and large specific surface area has gained the attention of researchers. Recently, novel nanocomposite materials based on graphene and conducting polymers including polyaniline (PANi), polypyrrole (PPy), poly (3,4 ethyldioxythiophene) (PEDOT), polythiophene (PTh), and their derivatives have been widely used as active materials in gas sensing due to their unique electrical conductivity, redox property, and good operation at room temperature. Mixing these two materials exhibited better sensing performance compared to pure graphene and conductive polymers. This may be attributed to the large specific surface area of the nanocomposites, and also the synergistic effect between graphene and conducting polymers. A variety of graphene and conducting polymer nanocomposite preparation methods such as in situ polymerization, electropolymerization, solution mixing, self-assembly approach, etc. have been reported and utilization of these nanocomposites as sensing materials has been proven effective in improving the performance of gas sensors. Review of the recent research efforts and developments in the fabrication and application of graphene and conducting polymer nanocomposites for gas sensing is the aim of this review paper.
Highlights
Graphene possesses unique properties including a high specific surface area (2630 m2 g−1 ) and excellent electron mobility, and the atoms of a single-layer graphene sheet can adsorb gas molecules and provide the largest sensing area per unit volume, which makes it suitable as an active material for gas-sensing applications [1,2,3]
The preparation methods and sensing performance of graphene and conductive polymer nanocomposites are discussed in this review paper
The most widely used methods to prepare nanocomposites of graphene and conductive polymers for the application of gas sensors are in situ chemical polymerization
Summary
Graphene possesses unique properties including a high specific surface area (2630 m2 g−1 ) and excellent electron mobility, and the atoms of a single-layer graphene sheet can adsorb gas molecules and provide the largest sensing area per unit volume, which makes it suitable as an active material for gas-sensing applications [1,2,3]. Conducting polymer-based gas sensors are more sensitive, with a shorter response time at room temperature, that tune both chemical and physical properties by using different substituents in comparison with most commercially available metal oxide (MO)-based gas sensors. The advantage of polymer-nanocomposite includes the value-added properties of the pure polymers without affecting their processability, inherent mechanical properties, and lightweight [16,17,18] While both graphene and conducting polymers present some unique and exciting capabilities in the detection of a variety of gases, some researchers came up with the idea of mixing these materials to fabricate a graphene/conducting polymer composite with better sensing characterizations [19,20,21]. Conducting polymer composites with graphene for use in chemical sensors and biosensors
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