Effect of Three-Dimensional-Printed Thermoplastics Used in Sensor Housings on Common Atmospheric Trace Gasses

Abstract

Low-cost air quality sensors (LCSs) are becoming more ubiquitous as individuals and communities seek to reduce their exposure to poor air quality. Compact, efficient, and aesthetically designed sensor housings that do not interfere with the target air quality measurements are a necessary component of a low-cost sensing system. The selection of appropriate housing material can be an important factor in air quality applications employing LCSs. Three-dimensional printing, specifically fused deposition modeling (FDM), is a standard for prototyping and small-scale custom plastics production because of its low cost and ability for rapid iteration. However, little information exists about whether FDM-printed thermoplastics affect measurements of trace atmospheric gasses. This study investigates how five different FDM-printed thermoplastics (ABS, PETG, PLA, PC, and PVDF) affect the concentration of five common atmospheric trace gasses (CO, CO2, NO, NO2, and VOCs). The laboratory results show that the thermoplastics, except for PVDF, exhibit VOC off-gassing. The results also indicate no to limited interaction between all of the thermoplastics and CO and CO2 and a small interaction between all of the thermoplastics and NO and NO2.

Non-Invasive Multi-Gas Detection Enabled by Cu-CuO/PEDOT Microneedle Sensor

“…As such, there is a growing demand for portable, cost-effective, and user-friendly microsensor platforms capable of the in-situ detecting of VOCs, particularly in urban and industrial settings where exposure levels may exceed regulatory limits. In recent years, metal-oxide-based materials have been extensively used as chemiresistive microsensors for monitoring environmental methane, and the sensing behaviors are the outcomes according to the changes in their electrical/capacitive or optical performance [ 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”