Toward On-Chip Multisensor Arrays for Selective Methanol and Ethanol Detection at Room Temperature: Capitalizing the...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Sensing
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Artificial olfaction units (e-noses) are crucial for Internet-of-Things and various applications, requiring room-temperature operation.
• Derivatized 2D crystals offer potential for advanced e-nose technologies beyond current semiconductor limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and investigate the gas-sensing properties of on-chip multisensor arrays using hole-matrixed carbonylated graphene (C-ny graphene).
• To evaluate the chemiresistive response of C-ny graphene towards methanol and ethanol at room temperature.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of on-chip multisensor arrays with C-ny graphene films featuring varied thickness and ketone group concentration.
• Gas-sensing characterization at room temperature using methanol and ethanol mixtures with air.
• Material characterization using core-level techniques and density functional theory (DFT).
• Data analysis using linear discriminant analysis (LDA) for selective alcohol discrimination.

Main Results:

• Enhanced chemiresistive response of C-ny graphene to methanol and ethanol at 100 ppm concentrations.
• Established predominant role of the perforated C-ny graphene structure and ketone groups in the chemiresistive effect.
• Achieved selective discrimination of alcohols using multisensor array signals and LDA.
• Demonstrated long-term performance stability of the fabricated chip.

Conclusions:

• The developed C-ny graphene-based multisensor arrays are effective for room-temperature alcohol sensing.
• The perforated structure and high concentration of ketone groups significantly enhance chemiresistive sensing capabilities.
• The fabricated e-nose chip demonstrates potential for practical applications requiring selective alcohol detection and long-term stability.