In this work, quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensors for detection of trace hydrogen cyanide (HCN) gas were developed based on nanostructural (flower-like, boat-like, ellipsoid-like, plate-like) CuO. Responses of all the sensors to HCN were found to be in an opposite direction as compared with other common volatile substances, offering excellent selectivity for HCN detection. The sensitivity of these sensors is dependent on the morphology of CuO nanostructures, among which the plate-like CuO has the highest sensitivity (2.26 Hz/μg). Comparison of the specific surface areas of CuO nanostructures shows that CuO of higher surface area (9.3 m(2)/g) is more sensitive than that of lower surface area (1.5 m(2)/g), indicating that the specific surface area of these CuO nanostructures plays an important role in the sensitivity of related sensors. On the basis of experimental results, a sensing mechanism was proposed in which a surface redox reaction occurs between CuO and Cu(2)O on the CuO nanostructures reversibly upon contact with HCN and air, respectively. The CuO-functionalized QCM sensors are considered to be a promising candidate for trace HCN gas detection in practical applications.
Two self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), 6-mercaptonicotinic acid (6-MNA)
and hydrophobic heptadecafluorodecyltrimethoxysilane (FAS-17),
are used to specifically modify the two surfaces of a piezoresistive
SiO2
cantilever for functionalizations of both specific explosive-sensing improvement and
non-specific molecular-adsorption suppression. With the dual-SAM modification technique,
the on-chip-integrated ultra-sensitive microcantilever sensor behaves more sensitively and
has quicker sensing properties to trace trinitrotoluene (TNT) than the previously reported
cantilever functionalized with 4-MBA SAM, as well as being able to significantly
suppress the cross-talk influence from environmental air humidity. Measurement
results show that the high-performance sensor achieves a rapid, reversible and
reproducible response to TNT vapour, with a detecting resolution of tens of ppt.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.