A model of polyelectrolyte conductance in moist solvents as a basis of water sensors.
The conductance of interpenetrated polymer networks (IPNs) containing quaternary amino groups was studied in cyclohexane, toluene, ethyl ether, ethyl acetate, and tetrahydrofurane as a function of water content by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. IPNs were then used as sensitive materials to detect water traces in organic solvents with promising results for the construction of a moisture sensor. The detection onset for water concentration increased with the dielectric constant of the solvent. Different IPN-based sensors in the same solvent showed a detection limit at lower water concentration if their characteristic plot [conductance/relative humidity (RH%) in air] was shifted toward lower RH%. This suggests that the composition of this class of polymers can be tuned to achieve the best performance for each solvent.
Casalbore-Miceli
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G
Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività (ISOF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy.
Zanelli
A
A
Rinaldi
A W
AW
Girotto
E M
EM
Yang
M-J
MJ
Chen
Y-S
YS
Li
Y
Y