March 26 - 30
Indiana
Two presentations will be given by Tianyi Liu at ACS Spring 2023. If you cannot attend the conference but wish to learn more about Brewer Science’s printed sensor capabilities, please fill out the form at the bottom of this page. You can learn more about the ACS Spring event on their website.
Printable Polyethyleneimine/Carbon Black Composites for CO2 Sensors
Abstract: In this project, a composite material of polyethyleneimine (PEI) and carbon black (CB) was prepared for CO2 detection at room temperature. The function of PEI is to absorb and desorb CO2 reversibly, and the role of CB is to not only provide good electrical conductivity to a detectable range for an embedded system, but also tune the viscosity of the material so that it can be printable. This new sensor has advantages over the existing PEI-based sensing materials as its processing is much simpler, which requires less time and energy. Sensors were fabricated by a screen-printing method, and a systematic investigation of sensors has been conducted in terms of gas concentration, selectivity, sensitivity, and environmental conditions. Moreover, a comparison study of CO2 sensors made of functionalized carbon nanotubes has been performed, which could demonstrate the functions of various carbon materials in PEI-based CO2 sensors. A p-n type conversion was found in the PEI-carbon composites. We hope this study could be helpful in explaining the aging of PEI derived CO2 sensors, providing insights for the future gas sensor design.
A Metal-Air Battery Based Electrochemical Oxygen Sensors
Abstract: Oxygen sensors have been widely applied in different fields, such as internal combustion engines in automobiles and vehicles, hypoxic air fire prevention systems, diving tanks, medical applications, confined areas monitoring for working safety, etc. However, designing a robust and cost-effective oxygen sensor that is environmentally friendly, particularly Pb free and low power, is a challenge. Herein, an electrochemical oxygen sensor based on zinc-air batteries has been successfully developed, in which the zinc and carbon-based composite are serving as an anode and a cathode, respectively. The oxygen concentration can be observed in terms of electrical signals generated by the battery redox reaction. A complete product development including materials selection, hardwire design, and screen tests has been demonstrated in this work, which provides insights for fabricating high-performance electrochemical oxygen sensors with a relatively low cost. Moreover, some future directions of metal-air battery-based electrochemical oxygen sensors with special focuses on materials chosen are suggested.
