Sustainable current generation from the ammonia–polypyrrole interaction

Abstract

Although current production in response to a polypyrrole (PPy) surface interaction with ammonia has been exploited in different sensor configurations, the origin of current generation has yet to be characterized. One of the standing issues critical to the use of this PPy–ammonia current generation is the limited lifetime of the PPy in the presence of ammonia. Our investigations into a possible mechanism for this reaction and experimental results indicate that this current generation is significantly more sustainable in the presence of a reactive oxygen species. Increase in lifetime (up to 50 fold) for such current generation has allowed an investigation of the reaction at different ammonia concentrations and pHs. Such experimentation allows the further contemplation of the use of ammonia as a possible fuel in a room temperature and ambient pressure fuel cell without an anodic precious metal catalyst.