Investigation of Conductive Organic Films Grown on Carbyne Gas Sensing Nanomaterial

Carbyne is an allotrope of carbon with linear molecules and its application is still under investigation. As a carbon-based nanomaterial, it is applicable for sensing applications, as it has physical and electronic properties that facilitate the detection of substances in gaseous compounds. The technology for the deposition of electrodes is important for the sensor performance. The replacement of the conventional vacuum-deposited metal electrodes with a conductive material grown at lower temperatures would be the preferable approach to avoid defects on the carbyne surface. In this study, a conductive ink from conjugated polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) mixed with graphene was spray deposited on carbyne coating. The possibility for patterning of the organic film as comb electrodes were investigated, aiming for future fabrication of surface acoustic wave gas sensors with organic contacts. It was found that the sheet resistance is stable at different temperatures and decreased only with ~ 1.1 Ω/sq at annealing up to 200 °C. The patterning procedure resulted in a minimal size of ~5 μm for the comb pitch, without significant change in the contact parameters of the system like interface capacitance, impedance and surface roughness. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study of organic/organic interface, involving carbyne nanomaterial for future sensing platforms.