The
surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology has been widely used
for hazardous gas detection, but the low sensitivity, poor selectivity,
long response/recovery time, and signal “false positives”
of the sensors have limited its application for gas-phase explosives
detection. In this paper, a composite gas-phase explosives sensor
with frequency-resistance dual-signal display was designed by transferring
25 layers of graphene (rGO) in the sensing area of the SAW device
and coupling p-aminothiophenol (PATP)-modified gold
nanoparticles (AuNPs). The rGO:AuNP/PATP-SAW sensor shows signal response
from two signal dimensions, frequency and resistance, to 0.1–80
ppm TNT gas with a low detection limit (DL) of 41.2 ppb. The composite
sensor has a short response/recovery time (9.8 s/27.1 s) with good
selectivity, repeatability, and stability. The excellent gas-sensitive
performance of the rGO:AuNP/PATP-SAW sensor was attributed to the
fact that PATP provides a large number of selective capture groups,
which are enriched in the sensing area by the presence of multiple
strong interactions with 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) molecules. This
work will provide scientific guidance for the engineering promotion
of surface acoustic wave gas-phase explosives sensors.