Improvement of ammonia sensing properties of polypyrrole by nanocomposite with graphitic materials

The more sensitive and rapid ammonia gas sensors were prepared with nanocomposites of polypyrrole (PPy) and graphitic materials such as graphite, graphite oxide (GO), and reduced graphene oxide (RGO). Pyrrole was polymerized uniformly on the surface of graphitic materials by in situ polymerization method. The structures of nanocomposites were studied by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicating the well-exfoliated GO and RGO in PPy matrix with favorable interfacial interaction. PPy/RGO nanocomposite showed the highly improved response in detecting ammonia gas mainly due to the effective electron charge transfer between PPy and ammonia and the efficient transfer of electrical resistance variation by the uniformly dispersed conductive RGO in PPy. PPy/RGO nanocomposite gas sensor also showed the excellent reproducibility in ammonia sensing behavior during the recovery process at lower temperature of 373 K.