PEDOT:PSS: borophene and P3HT: borophene nanocomposites for multi-gas detection

Abstract The need for low-cost and selective gas sensors is increasing for industrial safety, environmental monitoring, and occupational health; in particular, the reliable monitoring of NO 2 , NH 3 , and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at low ppm levels is a crucial requirement. In this study, nanocomposite films prepared using Poly(2,3-dihydrothieno-1,4-dioxin)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) with borophene were applied to gold interdigitated transducer (IDT) electrodes, and their multi-gas detection performances against NO 2 , NH 3 , formaldehyde, ethanol, methanol, acetone, chloroform, and hexane were compared. The PEDOT:PSS:Borophene-based sensor demonstrated particularly high performance against alcohol-based VOCs; For ethanol, sensitivity was 35%/ppm, response time was 21 s, and LOD was 0.62 ppm, while for methanol, sensitivity was 28%/ppm, response time was 23 s, and LOD was 0.75 ppm. The P3HT: Borophene sensor showed a remarkable response to NO 2 , a strong electron acceptor; sensitivity for NO 2 was 71%/ppm, response time was 16 s, and LOD was 0.12 ppm. The findings indicate that borophene addition significantly enhances detection performance, improves selectivity, and lowers detection limits in both conductive polymer structures. Therefore, the developed PEDOT:PSS:Borophene and P3HT: Borophene nanocomposite sensors are considered strong candidates for environmental monitoring of toxic gases and industrial process safety.