Acetone Sensor Based on a Composite of Calcium Itaconate and Graphene Oxide

The present paper reports the preparation of a nanocomposite thin film consisting of calcium itaconate and graphene oxide (GO). The composite is a black powder consisting of individual shiny prismatic crystals at varying degrees of maturity. The crystal size distribution is quite narrow: from 3.6 to 6.2 μm in length and from 0.7 to 1.1 μm in width. Thin-film-based acetone sensor made of a nanocomposite was fabricated by spin coating of calcium itaconate–GO nanoparticles on glass plates. The thin-film acetone sensor was characterized using FTIR, XRD, SEM, TEM, and the low-temperature nitrogen sorption–desorption method. The sensor response time is 7.66 ± 0.07 s (sr = 0.92%), and the relaxation time when blowing the surface with clean air or inert gas (nitrogen, argon) is 9.26 ± 0.12 s (sr = 1.28%). The sensing mechanism of the sensor for detecting acetone at room temperature was also is proposed based on phenomenological understanding due to the absence of direct electronic/charge-transport evidence.