Nowadays, a great attention is paid to the design of the devices, imitating human senses, such as smell, taste and
vision. This approach includes the development of electronic noses (ENOSE), electronic tongues, and computer
vision. Electronic noses are the instruments comprising a set of different chemical gas sensors with partial selectivity
coupled with pattern-recognition system, capable of recognizing simple or complex odours. ENOSEs have found
wide potential applications, for example in food and pharmaceutical industries, biomedicine, environmental
chemistry, and automotive industry [1 – 3]. Currently, the most common types of sensors used in e-noses are metal oxide semiconductors, conducting polymers, piezoelectric and surface acoustic wave sensors. However, the
sensitivity and selectivity of the devices, based on these sensors are limited, and insufficient to solve a large number
of practical problems. One of possible ways to address this issue is the use of novel polymer nanocompose materials.
Recently, polymer nanocomposites have been pointed out as a very promising route in the development of chemical
gas sensors [4]. The application of new polymer nanocomposite materials provides a tool for the selective detection
of chemical compounds, which cannot be determined using traditional gas sensors and, from another hand, enables a
very significant decrease in detection limit of this analysis. The operation principle of polymer nanocomposite
sensors consists in drastic changes in electric conductivity of the polymer matrix filled with conductive or
semiconductor nanoparticles under external influence. It is important that the concentration of nanoparticles is close
to percolation threshold. In this case, small changes in the properties of the matrix, for example, dielectric constant,
due to the absorption of gas leads to a very strong change of conductivity of nanocomposite material. The most
important gases, which can be detected using this method, are the vapors of explosive compounds, toxic gases, and
low concentration gases typical for human breath.
The aim of this work is the demonstration of the applicability of polymer nanocomposite sensors for the
detection of low concentrations of some target gases: nitrogen dioxide, ammonia gas, and hydrogen chloride. The
last gas is important product of decomposition of many toxic compounds such as pesticides and PVC isolation. In
the last case, the appearance of HCl is a marker of initial stage of fire or overheating of wire isolation.
The applicability of multisensor system based on a novel polymer nanocomposite material with parylene matrix including metal
and/or semiconductive nanoparticles for the detection of low concentrations of ammonia gas, nitrogen dioxide, and hydrogen
chloride is demonstrated. Nanocomposite films were synthesized by vacuum co-condensation method. It was shown that
nanocomposite sensors demonstrate stable, fast, and reversible response at room temperature to target gases in ppm- and sub-ppm
concentration ranges. Testing multisensor system using imitators of the odors of explosives (TNT) and drugs (heroin) showed the
possibility of qualitative analysis of these odors as well.