DC-resistometric urea sensitive device utilizing a conducting polymer film for the gas-phase detection of ammonia

The construction of an urea sensitive device based on a conducting polymer is described. The conducting polymer (polypyrrole) was exposed only to a gas-phase; this led to a significant improvement in its stability. A DC-resistometric measuring principle was used, which required only simple measuring equipment. The device responded rapidly to between 0 and 500 mM urea, with resistance changes of between 0 and 400 Ohms. The measurement of the urea content of a sample and subsequent regeneration took 20 min.