Abstract
Polypyrrole (PPy) film was photochemically synthesized in an aqueous silver nitrate solution on a copper plate which has undergone a prior SERS-activation procedure according to the well-known ORC roughening protocol. Elemental and vibrational analyses by X-ray photoelectron (XPS) and infrared (IR) spectroscopies revealed the incorporation of both silver particles and nitrate doping anions into the polymer matrix. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) morphological characterization of the obtained silver particles highlighted leaf-shaped crystals whose growth follows a fractal geometry. The combination of this growth mode with the rough nature of the copper surface gives lies at the origin of a huge SERS effect whose enhancement factor was evaluated at 200 in comparison with PPy electrosynthesized on platinum. On the other hand, the PPy-Ag composite exhibited very interesting sensing properties with significant reproducible changes in the polymer electrical resistance when subjected to gas emissions of both ammonia and acetone. Given these encouraging results, potential sensing applications of the composite polymer would be conceivable in various industrial domains.
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