Impact of Compositional Engineering on PTB7-Th:PC71BM Capacitive Humidity Sensor Performance

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-1-2024

Abstract

The current investigation focuses on the development of capacitive humidity sensors utilizing an organic polymer blend of poly4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophene-2-yl)benzo1,2-b;4,5-b `]dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-(4-(2-ethylhexyl)-3-fluorothieno3,4-b]thio phene-)-2-carboxylate-2-6-diyl)] (PTB7-Th) and 6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric-acid methyl ester (PC71BM), which were successfully achieved. A cost-effective spin-coating technique was employed to produce surface-type sensors in the Al/PTB7-Th:PC71BM/Al horizontal geometry. The investigation focuses on the capacitive behavior of the devices under ambient conditions, specifically at room temperature. The devices are subjected to an alternating current operational bias of 1 V, while the relative humidity (RH) is varied within the range of 20-95%. The sensors are examined at frequencies of 100 Hz, 1 kHz, 10 kHz, and 100 kHz. Specifically, the sensors demonstrate improved sensitivity to changes in capacitance in relation to relative humidity when operating at a frequency of 100 Hz. In addition, an optimal volumetric ratio of 1.5:1 is selected for PTB7-Th to PC71BM. The optimized composite sensor demonstrates superior performance, exhibiting minimal hysteresis of 6.16% and significant sensitivity of 1.58 pF/% RH. In addition, response and recovery times of 2 s and 3 s, respectively, are obtained. The results of investigations demonstrate that the composite sensor exhibits significant improvements in sensing parameters compared to single-material sensors. As a result, the composite sensor has great potential for use in advanced sensor applications, especially in the education sector in underdeveloped countries.

Keywords

Capacitance, humidity sensor, organic semiconductor, polymer composite, surface-type

Publication Title

Journal of Electronic Materials

Divisions

PHYSICS

Funders

Universiti Malaya,Higher Education Commission of Pakistan

Volume

53

Issue

11, SI

Publisher

Springer

Publisher Location

ONE NEW YORK PLAZA, SUITE 4600, NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES

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