Inkjet printing of chemiresistive sensors for the detection of volatile organic compounds

We report about inkjet printing of chemiresistive sensors for the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The sensor comprises three fully inkjet-printed layers of (i) silver interdigitated electrodes (IDE), (ii) multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and (iii) poly (styrene-co-maleic acid) partial isobutyl/methyl mixed ester (PSE) deposited on glass and polymer substrates. A composite-like structure of PSE and MWCNTs could be obtained by applying optimized printing parameters. Thus, this layer can act as chemiresistive vapor sensor due to the change of electrical resistance in presence of selected VOCs. We have studied the response of the sensors to various VOCs and different vapor concentrations of the VOCs. To investigate the morphology and the properties of the inkjet-printed thin films, profilometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as well as electrical measurements were employed. ©2012 Society for Imaging Science and Technology.