Fabrication

Pathology

Nanotechnology

Electrode

Cyclic voltammetry

Analytical Chemistry (journal)

Engineering

Conductive polymer

Physical chemistry

Electrochemical gas sensor

Composite material

Chemistry

Thin film

Materials science

Alternative medicine

Sputtering

Polyaniline

Polymerization

Chemical engineering

Chromatography

Optoelectronics

Polymer

Electrochemistry

Medicine

Sensors

Polyaniline (PANI) is a conducting polymer, widely used in gas-sensing applications. Due to its classification as a semiconductor, PANI is also used to detect reducing ammonia gas (NH3), which is a well-known and studied topic. However, easier, cheaper and more straightforward procedures for sensor fabrication are still the subject of much research. In the presented work, we describe a novel, more controllable, synthesis approach to creating NH3 PANI-based receptor elements. The PANI was electrochemically deposited via cyclic voltammetry (CV) on screen-printed electrodes (SPEs). The morphology, composition and surface of the deposited PANI layer on the Au electrode were characterised with electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and profilometry. Prior to the gas-chamber measurement, the SPE was suitably modified by Au sputtering the individual connections between the three-electrode system, thus showing a feasible way of converting a conventional three-electrode electrochemical SPE system into a two-electrode NH3-gas detecting system. The feasibility of the gas measurements’ characterisation was improved using the gas analyser. The gas-sensing ability of the PANI-Au-SPE was studied in the range 32–1100 ppb of NH3, and the sensor performed well in terms of repeatability, reproducibility and sensitivity.

Facile Fabrication of an Ammonia-Gas Sensor Using Electrochemically Synthesised Polyaniline on Commercial Screen-Printed Three-Electrode Systems