P1.8.2 Printable Paper-Based Polymer Sensors for Detection of Vapor Phase Alcohols
- Event
- 14th International Meeting on Chemical Sensors - IMCS 2012
2012-05-20 - 2012-05-23
Nürnberg/Nuremberg, Germany - Chapter
- P1.8 Sensors Based on New Materials
- Author(s)
- J. Mitchell, R. Oliver, B. Jordan - Bioengineering Technologies Group, The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Ltd (New Zealand)
- Pages
- 1109 - 1111
- DOI
- 10.5162/IMCS2012/P1.8.2
- ISBN
- 978-3-9813484-2-2
- Price
- free
Abstract
Porous sol-gel polymer thin films doped with gold nanoparticles are coated onto paper substrates to serve as lowcost plasmonic gas sensors. Once the polymer is set, it can swell in response to the presence of organic volatiles, thus altering the inter-particle distance between nanoparticles and blueshifting the plasmon resonance peak. A solgel formulation is selected to achieve appropriate porosity and hydrophobicity for detection of the short chain alcohols methanol and ethanol. This polymer matrix surrounds the gold nanoparticles without causing aggregation and forms a thin film which interpenetrates the pores of the paper substrate. Plasmon shifts are detected by use of a fiber optic spectrometer combined with peak fitting algorithms to determine plasmon peak position accurately. Sensor responses were analyzed after passive exposure to alcohol vapors in sealed vessels. Limits of detection of 160 ppm for methanol and 100 ppm for ethanol were achieved, sufficient for use in industrial process control and safety applications. The plasmonic responses are reversible, making the sensors re-usable which, combined with low substrate costs, offers an inexpensive alcohol sensor.