Vol. 7, Issue 1 (2018)

Author(s):
Naseem AR Deshpande, Sanjay D Chakane and Aditi G Awate

Abstract:
Ammonia, a colorless and highly irritating gas with a suffocating odor, which is widely used in industries and household cleaning materials. Overexposure to Ammonia may cause invisibility, lung damage, coma and sometimes may lead to death. Thus, sensing of ammonia becomes important. Conducting polymers and metallophthalocyanines have been found to be good gas sensing materials. The present study reports detection of ammonia using Cu-Phthalocyanine as a sensor. Cu-Phthalocyanine is synthesized by chemical method. The prepared sample is characterized using XRD, SEM, UV spectroscopy and FTIR and later developed in form of pellets. Using a two-probe sensing assembly, resistance of pellet is measured in presence and absence of ammonia at room temperature. The resulting change in electrical conductivity of Cu-Phthalocyanine on exposure to ammonia is used to evaluate the sensitivity. It is surmised that Cu-Phthalocyanine can serve as a good applicant for sensing ammonia.