8.2.1 Ionic Liquid Based Electrochemical Ethylene Sensor for Fruit and Vegetable Monitoring
- Event
- 14th International Meeting on Chemical Sensors - IMCS 2012
2012-05-20 - 2012-05-23
Nürnberg/Nuremberg, Germany - Chapter
- 8.2 Electrochemical Sensors II
- Author(s)
- W. Knoben, M. Zevenbergen, S. Brongersma - Mercedes Crego-Calama, Holst Centre/imec (The Netherlands)
- Pages
- 675 - 678
- DOI
- 10.5162/IMCS2012/8.2.1
- ISBN
- 978-3-9813484-2-2
- Price
- free
Abstract
Ethylene is a plant hormone and an indicator for the ripeness of various fruits and vegetables. Measuring the ethylene concentration is therefore a powerful method for monitoring and controlling the ripening process. However, current ethylene detection equipment is bulky and expensive or lacking sufficient sensitivity and selectivity. At Holst Centre, a novel electrochemical ethylene sensor has been developed, in which a thin ionic liquid film is used as the electrolyte. This enables the development of a small, low power and low cost ethylene sensor. Currently, the detection limit of the sensor is less than 1 ppm. This is close to the specification needed for monitoring the ripening process during transport and storage of fruits and vegetables. Moreover, fabrication of the sensor on a flexible substrate is demonstrated. This opens up possibilities for integrating the sensor in packaging materials, so-called smart packaging. In this contribution, the sensor technology will be explained and recent developments will be presented.