Semiconducting polymer thin film sensors for detection of toxic gases

The development of efficient devices for detection of toxic gases in the en vironment is a important challenge in the area sensor development. The sele ction of proper material to act as a selective interface to mediate between the outside environment and the sensor transducer is very crucial. The rec ent development of semiconducting polymer materials, with every imaginable combination of physical and chemical characteristics for fabrication of sen sors has led to the fabrication of efficient has sensors. The diversity of properties of these polymers enables them to provide a wide range of applic ations in sensor technology. These polymers do not suffer from the drawback of preparation complications and synthesis complexities and have a lon she lf-life and efficiency. A method of large-scale production of a new class o f sensing polymers, the semiconducting polymers is described in this paper. The sensors show excellent sensitivity in the thin film form. The thin fil ms are prepared by vacuum deposition method, hence a reliance on a dry tech nology. These sensors find applications in industrial, technological, medic al civilian and strategic sector. This has led to the development of low co st, efficient and simple to operate sensor devices that can be positioned r emotely and can be used for on- line monitoring. Semiconducting polymeric t hin film sensors are the latest devices to be used for the above mentioned applications and have been tested for their efficiency, reliability, cost e ffectiveness and performance. The most important advantage of these polymer ic sensors is their room temperature operation and high sensitivity.