Impact of reduced graphene oxide on the sensing performance of Poly (3, 4–ethylenedioxythiophene) towards highly sensitive and selective CO sensor: A comprehensive study

Herein we tackled a rigorous study to extract the appropriate weight ratio of rGO incorporated with the PEDOT matrix that's led to optimal CO gas sensor performance. In this work, various ratios of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) have been incorporated into conjugated polymer poly (3, 4- ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) for comprehensively studying the influence of rGO on the sensing performance of PEDOT towards CO gas at room temperature. The pristine PEDOT and PEDOT/rGO nanocomposites were prepared by the in situ polymerization route. Among different weight ratios of PEDOT/rGO nanocomposites, the 30% PEDOT/rGO based-sensor demonstrated the highest response of 52% to CO gas, which is 3-fold higher than pure PEDOT response. The fabricated sensors showed a response to CO gas at a concentration range of (10–325 ppm) with a fast response/ recovery time of 55 s / 53 s, respectively. The outstanding sensing characteristics of our sensors are ascribed to the effect of high charge carrier, high surface area of rGO, and work function difference between rGO and PEDOT. Thus, in this work, the tested CO sensor has an innovative potentiality for practical applications.