The dynamic response of gas sensors based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanofibers (NFs) to gaseous acetone was assessed using a setup based on flow-injection analysis, aimed at emulating actual breath exhalation. The setup was validated by using a commercially available sensor. The P3HT NFs sensors tested in dynamic flow conditions showed satisfactory reproducibility down to about 3.5 ppm acetone concentration, a linear response over a clinically relevant concentration range (3.5-35 ppm), excellent baseline recovery and reversibility upon repeated exposures to the analyte, short pulse rise and fall times (less than 1 s and about 2 s, respectively) and low power consumption (few nW), with no relevant response to water. Comparable responses’ decay times under either nitrogen or dry air suggest that the mechanisms at work is mainly attributable to specific analyte-semiconducting polymer interactions. These results open the way to the use of P3HT NFs-based sensing elements for the realization of portable, real-time electronic noses for on-the-fly exhaled breath analysis.

Nanostructured P3HT as a Promising SensingElement for Real-Time, Dynamic Detection ofGaseous Acetone

Viviani, Emanuele;Carrato, Sergio;Fraleoni-Morgera, Alessandro
2019-01-01

Abstract

The dynamic response of gas sensors based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanofibers (NFs) to gaseous acetone was assessed using a setup based on flow-injection analysis, aimed at emulating actual breath exhalation. The setup was validated by using a commercially available sensor. The P3HT NFs sensors tested in dynamic flow conditions showed satisfactory reproducibility down to about 3.5 ppm acetone concentration, a linear response over a clinically relevant concentration range (3.5-35 ppm), excellent baseline recovery and reversibility upon repeated exposures to the analyte, short pulse rise and fall times (less than 1 s and about 2 s, respectively) and low power consumption (few nW), with no relevant response to water. Comparable responses’ decay times under either nitrogen or dry air suggest that the mechanisms at work is mainly attributable to specific analyte-semiconducting polymer interactions. These results open the way to the use of P3HT NFs-based sensing elements for the realization of portable, real-time electronic noses for on-the-fly exhaled breath analysis.
2019
Pubblicato
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/6/1296
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Sensors, 2019, 19, 1296.pdf

accesso aperto

Descrizione: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
Tipologia: Documento in Versione Editoriale
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 3.27 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
3.27 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11368/2940699
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 5
  • Scopus 12
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 12
social impact