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 language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 240-246 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Sensors and Actuators, B: Chemical |
Volume | 248 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 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