A Formaldehyde Sensor Based on Molecularly-Imprinted Polymer on a TiO₂ Nanotube Array.
Today, significant attention has been brought to the development of sensitive, specific, cheap, and reliable sensors for real-time monitoring. Molecular imprinting technology is a versatile and promising technology for practical applications in many areas, particularly chemical sensors. Here, we present a chemical sensor for detecting formaldehyde, a toxic common indoor pollutant gas. Polypyrrole-based molecularly-imprinted polymer (PPy-based MIP) is employed as the sensing recognition layer and synthesized on a titanium dioxide nanotube array (TiO₂-NTA) for increasing its surface-to-volume ratio, thereby improving the sensor performance. Our sensor selectively detects formaldehyde in the parts per million (ppm) range at room temperature. It also shows a long-term stability and small fluctuation to humidity variations. These are attributed to the thin fishnet-like structure of the PPy-based MIP on the highly-ordered and vertically-aligned TiO₂-NTA.
ICTEAM, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Place du Levant, 3, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. xiaohui.tang@uclouvain.be.
Xiaohui
X
Tang
ICTEAM, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Place du Levant, 3, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. jean-pierre.Raskin@uclouvain.be.
Jean-Pierre
JP
Raskin
Department of Materials Science, Materia Nova ASBL, 7000 Mons, Belgium. driss.lahem@materianova.be.
Driss
D
Lahem
Materials Science Department, University of Mons, 7000 Mons, Belgium. arnaud.krumpmann@umons.ac.be.
Arnaud
A
Krumpmann
Materials Science Department, University of Mons, 7000 Mons, Belgium. andre.decroly@umons.ac.be.
André
A
Decroly
Materials Science Department, University of Mons, 7000 Mons, Belgium. marc.debliquy@umons.ac.be.
Marc
M
Debliquy
D005557:Formaldehyde; D054802:Molecular Imprinting; D043942:Nanotubes; D011108:Polymers; D014025:Titanium
D011108:Polymers; C009495:titanium dioxide; D005557:Formaldehyde; D014025:Titanium
formaldehyde sensor; humidity influence; molecularly-imprinted polypyrrole; titanium dioxide nanotube array