Volatile organic compound (VOC) sensors find an extensive use in environmental monitoring, health care, agriculture, food safety, defense, and homeland security applications. Therefore, the development of cost efficient, portable, and sensitive detection systems for VOCs has become increasingly important. A quartz crystal microbalance sensor was designed by depositing a thin film of the composite material comprising 1-n-butyl-3-methylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate and cellulose acetate on the gold electrode surface of the quartz crystal resonator. The sensor exhibited rapid response, complete regeneration, high sensitivity, low detection limits, and wide dynamic ranges. Polymers increased the rigidity of the film, enhancing the sensing characteristics. Furthermore, the frequency change and motional resistance shift of the sensor upon VOC sorption were simultaneously measured. It is demonstrated, for this material, that the ratio of the change in frequency to the change in motional resistance is a concentration-independent quantity proportional to the molecular weight of the absorbed chemical species.

GUMBOS-based QCM sensor for detection and molecular weight determination of organic vapors

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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