Polypyrrole nanoparticles fabricated via Triton X-100 micelles template approach and their acetone gas sensing property

Nano-scaled polypyrrole (PPy) particles have been successfully synthesized with the help of Triton X-100 micelles via soft template approach. The polypyrrole nanoparticles have been spin-coated on surface acoustic wave (SAW) transducers to demonstrate their sensing capability toward acetone gas exposure. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopes (FE-SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy have been utilized to characterize these PPy nanoparticles. The PPy nanoparticles have an average diameter of 95 nm. The responses of the sensors are linearly associated with the acetone concentrations in the range from 5.5 ppm to 80 ppm. In response to 5.5 ppm acetone exposure, the response and recovery time are 9 s and 8.3 s, respectively. SAW sensors coated with PPy nanoparticles were potentially useful to detect acetone.