Straightforward Synthesis and Evaluation of Polymeric Sensing Materials for Acetone Detection

Three polymeric materials (polyaniline, polypyrrole, and poly(methyl methacrylate)) are selected, prepared, and evaluated for potential use in acetone sensing (for possible diabetes-related applications). Of the materials studied, polyaniline and polypyrrole show the most promise. Polypyrrole allows for more acetone sorption (i.e., higher concentration of acetone sorbed), but does not distinguish between different target analytes (that is, it is not selective). A material's ability to distinguish between several gas analytes simultaneously (in a gas mixture) is rarely evaluated; selectivity is typically based on a one-analyte-at-a-time investigation. However, comparison of acetone sorption (in one experimental test) and interferent sorption (in a complementary experimental test) does not consider interactions that might occur between gas analytes; this motivates the sorption analysis of gas mixtures that is shown in this work. The most promising results are obtained when polyaniline or polypyrrole is exposed to acetone-rich gas mixtures with low amounts of acetaldehyde, ethanol, and benzene (interferent gases). Polymer doping using three metal oxides (SnO2, WO3, and ZnO) is also investigated, but metal oxide addition has a limited effect on the sorption performance. This is true for all three metal oxides, regardless of the amount of doping (over the range studied; up to 20 wt%).