A chemiresistive room temperature ammonia gas sensor based on self-assembled PPy/Zntpp

There is an increasing demand for monitoring ammonia in livestock farming, which can prevent livestock products from being contaminated by bacteria and viruses. As a prospective material for resistive sensors, polypyrrole (PPy) still suffers from low sensitivity and poor selectivity. Herein, zinc-tetra(p-sulfonylphenyl) porphyrin (Zntpp) particles are anchored on the PPy network by a one-step mild electrodeposition route to form a resistive sensor with the wrinkle-like nanostructure. The optimal PPy/Zntpp (Pzt) sensor demonstrates an outstanding response value of 104.3 % toward ammonia with a response/recovery time of 42/223 s, compared with that of PPy (7.2 % in response and 47/230 s). The durability and stabilities have been explored, and the limit of detection for Pzt is calculated to be ∼8.63 ppm, which enables trace ammonia in livestock farming. Additionally, the sensing mechanism can be attributed to the p-n heterojunction. Furthermore, a wireless sensor device that consists of a Pzt sensory unit, a microcomputer, and a Bluetooth module is assembled, and the concentration information can be read precisely in real-time by a smartphone, indicating the great application prospects in the field of livestock farming.