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A highly sensitive humidity sensor based on a nanofibrous membrane coated quartz crystal microbalance
Xianfeng Wang1, Bin Ding, Jianyong Yu
1State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China.
Nanotechnology
|December 22, 2009
Summary
A new humidity sensor uses electrospun nanofibrous membranes for high sensitivity. The sensor shows excellent linearity, reversibility, and stability across a wide humidity range.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Sensor Technology
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Humidity sensors are crucial for environmental monitoring and industrial processes.
- Developing highly sensitive and stable humidity sensors remains a key challenge.
- Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensors offer potential for precise measurements.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fabricate and characterize a novel humidity sensor using electrospun nanofibrous polyelectrolyte membranes.
- To evaluate the sensitivity, linearity, and stability of the developed sensor.
- To investigate the impact of nanofiber morphology and composition on sensor performance.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of nanofibrous polyelectrolyte membranes via electrospinning.
- Deposition of membranes onto a Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) substrate.
- Humidity sensing experiments conducted at room temperature across a wide relative humidity (RH) range (6-95%).
- Analysis of sensor response, linearity (Log(Deltaf)), and stability.
Main Results:
- The sensor demonstrated a high sensitivity, with response increasing over two orders of magnitude from 6% to 95% RH.
- Good linearity was observed in the 20-95% RH range.
- Nanofibrous polyacrylic acid (PAA) membranes showed significantly enhanced humidity sensitivity compared to PAA/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) composite membranes and flat films.
- The enhanced performance is attributed to the high PAA content and large specific surface area of the ultrathin nanowebs formed by electrospun fibers.
- The sensor exhibited good reversibility and long-term stability.
Conclusions:
- Electrospun nanofibrous polyelectrolyte membranes are effective sensitive coatings for QCM humidity sensors.
- Nanofibrous PAA membranes offer superior humidity sensing performance due to their unique morphology and composition.
- The developed sensor exhibits high sensitivity, linearity, reversibility, and stability, making it suitable for various applications.
