In this study, we have described a simple method for enhancing the performance of organic field-effect transistor (OFET) sensors in NO2 sensing at room temperature through reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-incorporated nanoporous P3HT films using shear coa...
In this study, we have described a simple method for enhancing the performance of organic field-effect transistor (OFET) sensors in NO2 sensing at room temperature through reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-incorporated nanoporous P3HT films using shear coating-assisted phase separation (SAPS) technique. The morphologies, microstructures, photophysical properties, and electrical properties of rGO-incorporated nanoporous P3HT films were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), optical microscopy (OM), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and charge-carrier mobility measurements. The synergistic effect of P3HT pores acting as analyte diffusion pathways and rGO acting as adsorption sites resulted in a significant variation of the electrical properties of nanoporous P3HT/rGO OFETs upon exposure to NO2 gas molecules, implying the potential of OFETs as an efficient NO2 sensor. Specifically, the new nanoporous OFET sensors based on rGO-incorporated nanoporous P3HT films exhibited significantly improved responsivity with a value of ~61.3% for 10 ppm NO2 gas compared to those based on nonporous P3HT/PS/rGO composite films (~17.7%). Moreover, excellent response and recovery behaviors (response time = ~62 s and recovery time = ~145 s), high sensitivity (~1.48 ppm–1), and good selectivity were observed.