Iodine doped polyaniline and cobalt-phthalocyanine as sensitive layers for ammonia detection via surface acoustic wave sensor

We report here the detection of aqueous ammonia using cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) and iodine doped polyaniline (I-PANI) as active layers associated to surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor. Cobalt phthalocyanine films were deposited on the gold sensing layer of SAW sensor platform by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), while iodine doped polyaniline films were elaborated by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD). The functionalized SAW surfaces have been characterized by means of atomic force microscopy and by X-ray fluorescence. The two realized chemsensors have been tested and compared in terms of sensitivity and detection limit. This work demonstrates successful strategies for the fabrication of a reliable SAW sensor able to detect small molecules.