Effect of varying chain length of n-alcohols and n-alkanes detected with electrostatically-formed nanowire sensor

Nandhini Swaminathan, Alex Henning, Titel Jurca, Joseph Hayon, Gil Shalev, Yossi Rosenwaks

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recent experimental investigations on the electrostatically-formed nanowire (EFN) sensor have led to promising results for gas phase chemical detection. Herein, we elaborate on the EFN sensor performance by systematically varying the alkyl chain length of target n-alcohols and n-alkanes. We observe that in addition to the polar target molecules, the sensor is also capable of detecting non-polar alkanes without any explicit additional surface treatment. Moreover, there is a noted increase in the sensor response commensurate with the increasing alkyl chain length for both the alcohols and alkanes tested. The underlying mechanism responsible for the observed phenomena is attributed to an interplay between the alcohol/alkane-silicon oxide interaction, induced surface EFN electric field and inherent molecular properties of our target species.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)240-246
Number of pages7
JournalSensors and Actuators, B: Chemical
Volume248
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2017

Keywords

  • Alkyl chain length
  • Chemical sensor
  • Electrostatically-formed nanowire
  • Volatile organic compounds
  • n-alcohols
  • n-alkanes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Instrumentation
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Metals and Alloys
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Materials Chemistry

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