Vapor sensing with arrays of carbon black-polymer composites

Adam J. Matzger; Thomas P. Vaid; Nathan Saul Lewis

doi:10.1117/12.357053

2 August 1999 Vapor sensing with arrays of carbon black-polymer composites

Adam J. Matzger, Thomas P. Vaid, Nathan Saul Lewis

Proceedings Volume 3710, Detection and Remediation Technologies for Mines and Minelike Targets IV; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.357053
Event: AeroSense '99, 1999, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

Thin films of carbon black-organic polymer composites have been deposited across two metallic leads, with swelling- induced resistance changes of the films signaling the presence of vapors. To identify and classify vapors, arrays of such vapor-sensing elements have been constructed, with each element containing a different organic polymer as the insulating phase. The differing gas-solid partition coefficients for the various polymers of the sensor array produce a pattern of resistance changes that can be used to classify vapors and vapor mixtures. This type of sensor array has been shown to resolve all organic vapors that have been analyzed, and can even resolve H₂O from D₂O. Blends of poly(vinyl acetate) and poly(methyl methacrylate) have been used to produce a series of sensor that response to vapors with a change in resistance of a magnitude that is not simply a linear combination of the responses of the pure polymers. These compatible blend composite detectors provided additional analyte discrimination information relative to a reference detector array that only contained composites formed using the pure polymer phases. Vapor signatures from chemicals used in land mine explosives, including TNT, DNT, and DNB, have been detected in air in short sampling time and discriminated from each other using these sensor arrays.

Citation Download Citation

Adam J. Matzger, Thomas P. Vaid, and Nathan Saul Lewis "Vapor sensing with arrays of carbon black-polymer composites", Proc. SPIE 3710, Detection and Remediation Technologies for Mines and Minelike Targets IV, (2 August 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.357053

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