Functionalized organic molecules for monitoring of toxic gases and VOCs at room temperature

Abstract

The rise of industrialization and population has directly hastened air pollution, due to the emission of toxic gases or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These hazardous gases or VOCs directly or indirectly pose serious threats to the environment and human health. Consequently, the detection of these harmful gases has gained paramount importance. Therefore, there is a need to develop a gas or VOC sensor that can identify toxic gases or VOC molecules in the surroundings. Thus, the development of high-quality, low-power-consuming, and affordable gas sensors has become a crucial societal demand for the real-time monitoring of toxic and inflammable gases or VOCs. This demand requires advanced functionalized sensing materials, such as conjugated polymers and organic-inorganic hybrids, which offer increased sensitivity and efficiency at room temperature (RT). Conjugated polymers and organic-inorganic hybrid materials have emerged as promising sensing materials due to their unique properties, such as high sensitivity, selectivity, stability, reproducibility, and the ability to operate at room temperature.