Physical Decoration of CNTs in Conductive Polymer Composites: A high Performance Vapor Detector

A new nanohybrid conductive composite was designed for detection of polar vapors. Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) / carbon nanotubes (CNTs) nanocomposite vapor sensors were introduced to various organic vapors such as methanol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and water. The response of these sensors was investigated based on thermodynamic parameters. Thus, by designing a new nanohybrid nanocomposite, the sensor response against polar vapors was improved. New active sites in conductive polymer composites (CPCs) were introduced by decoration of CNTs with chitosan (a polar biopolymer). The polar functional groups of chitosan enhanced the driving force for diffusion of polar molecules into the nanohybrid composite and adsorption on the surface of CNTs and subsequently improved the sensor response