Ultrasensitive flexible NO2 gas sensors via multilayer porous polymer film

Abstract

Micro-nano structure engineering of active materials in sensors have attracted broad attention for hazardous component detection, which enables creating electronic noses that could detect gas analytes efficiently without introducing abundant functional groups and defects. However, challenges still remain on realizing flexible gas sensors with both decent sensing performance and good mechanical robustness, which are extremely important for wearable electronics. Here we present a scalable and facile manufacturing method to construct the three-dimensional (3D) multilayer porous organic semiconductors (OSCs) structure for transistor based gas sensor, showing largely enhanced gas sensing properties as well as bendability down to 1 mm radius with stable operation. The multilayer porous film of OSCs is assembled via breath figure method, followed by layer-by-layer transferring process. The formed 3D porous structure provides efficient hazardous gas diffusion pathways, abundant gas molecules adsorption active sites and immunity towards mechanical deformation simultaneously. Consequently, an obvious increase of responsivity (from 122% to 1053% at 30 ppm) was achieved for NO2 detection, along with an ultralow limit of detection (∼2.3 ppb), and good gas selectivity. This work demonstrates a scalable and low-cost fabrication strategy for high-performance flexible sensors, which delivers an alternative way for next-generation wearable electronics.