Room temperature NH₃ gas sensor based on PMMA/RGO/ZnO nanocomposite films fabricated by in-situ solution polymerization

Effective detection of ammonia gas is of great importance due to its detrimental effects on human health, environment, and ecosystem. High-performance composite gas sensors are vital in accomplishing this goal. Herein, we investigate the performance of an ammonia (NH₃) gas sensor fabricated via dip-coating the silver interdigitated electrode for PMMA/RGO/ZnO (PRZ) nanocomposite solution with acetone as a solvent. The PRZ ternary nanocomposite was synthesized using the in-situ solution polymerization method and the resistive properties of the films assembled on the interdigitated electrode were analyzed, with respect to the fixed and varying ammonia gas concentrations, using LCR meter. When the sensor is operated in the controlled chamber containing ammonia gas at room temperature, the sensor responds rapidly to ammonia with a fast recovery of 13.02 s at a gas concentration of 350 ppm. The PRZ sensor exhibits high sensing percentage response (527%), excellent repeatability (four times), high sensitivity at low concentrations (less than 10 ppm), swift response and recovery times (1.94 s/13.02 s), and long-term stability (up to 90 days) with fluctuation of 3.2%, which signifies PRZ composite as a potential material for ammonia gas sensor. Aspects such as simplicity of the synthesis process and fabrication, excellent sensing performance, as well as fast response-recovery time at a particular gas concentration are noteworthy in this study. These features can be utilized for the detection of ammonia gas in chemical and biological fields.