Preparation and gas sensing properties of nanocomposite polymers on micro-Interdigitated electrodes for detection of volatile organic compounds at room temperature

[Display omitted] •An easy-to-handle and quick response device to detect chemical analytes (for air quality monitoring in laboratories and industrial process, etc.).•Conventional methodology, low-cost and scalable industrial fabrication.•Excellent performance of the gas chemocapacitor towards analyte (acetone) using sensitive nanocomposite thin layer.•Room temperature operation, no requirement of special means or any external stimulus for sensor’s response/recovery. A room-temperature chemocapacitive gas sensor based on polymeric nanocomposites (NCs) consisting of amine-terminated silicon nanoparticles (Si NPs-NH2) and poly (4-vinylphenol) was fabricated on a micro-gap interdigitated electrode (M-IDE), and used for the detection of acetone. Several polymers were explored to capture acetone, of which poly (4-vinylphenol) showed best results. The response of the sensor was significantly improved by the addition of silicon nanoparticles to the polymer layer. The response characteristics of the NC film towards volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were determined and compared with the pristine polymeric layer in this study. It was shown that the polymeric NC layer can detect acetone at room temperature within one minute. The sensing response towards acetone at room temperature proved that the turn–on and −off exposure to this analyte was reversible with good reproducibility (5% decay) after multiple cycles of gas exposure. The proof-of-concept results are promising for the development of novel gas detectors that are applicable in many fields such as industrial and laboratorial security.