Development of New Generation Gas and Vapor Sensors Using Organic Electronics

Details

• Personal Author:
  Rule AM
• Description:
  The lack of simple, inexpensive and high throughput exposure assessment technologies has limited the ability of public health professionals to discover environmental and occupational causes of disease, and to conduct exposure assessments needed to control workplace risks. The need for the development and application of new technology to conduct exposure assessments is widely recognized by many groups including NIOSH and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Advances in nanotechnology and materials sciences offer unique opportunities for the development of new air sampling sensor technologies based on organic electronic circuits. Field-effect transistors are the basic building blocks for electronic circuits, and organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are those made with organic semiconductors (OSCs). OSCs are susceptible to non-covalent interactions, trapping and doping, photoexcitation, dimensional deformation, and other mild transformations. These transformations alter the electronic input-output characteristics of the semiconductors and these changes in input-output characteristics can be used to detect and quantify the chemical and physical stimuli that cause these electronic modifications. Thus, we have designed a new platform, based on OSCs, for the construction of various types of sensors. The long-term goal of this research was to develop inexpensive, compact, sensitive and reliable gas/vapor sensors using organic materials technology. In this application, as a proof of concept, we developed a sensor that is able to detect low concentrations of ammonia for a variety of occupational and environmental applications. We used a novel OFET-based technology to develop these ammonia sensors as a proof of concept. These circuits can be made from a variety of materials with specific chemical interactions with environmental agents. To our knowledge, this is the first time this technology is applied to the development of air sampling sensors. For Specific Aim 1 we investigated a range of organic materials that can be incorporated into OFET sensors for their response to ammonia. We selected the optimal materials and developed the printed circuit sensors for further testing. In Specific Aim 2 we integrated multiple sensitive OFETs developed in Aim 1 into higher order circuits for synergistic responses, increasing sensitivity and specificity to ammonia, and ultimately other nitrogen containing compounds (e.g. aromatic amines, nicotine). In Specific Aim 3 we conducted laboratory validation and characterization of the OFET samplers developed in Aims 1 and 2 using a small bench scale apparatus and Specific Aim 4 consisted of a field validation of the samplers. The field tests revealed a fundamental flaw with the final prototype. The current change of a single device in response to interfering humidity is on the order of 5% for 40% humidity, but the interference from water vapor is comparable to the ammonia response at 70% humidity. We have secured funding to address this flaw and finalize a functioning prototype. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Electrical Equipment And Supplies Humidity Occupational Health Safety Semiconductors Volatilization
• Keywords:
  Ammonia Electronic Equipment Exposure Assessment Gas Detectors Nanotechnology Sensors Vapor Detectors
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-25
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053191
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2019-100191
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R21-OH-010190, 2016 Dec; :1-25
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ammonia (CAS RN 7664-41-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20120701
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20150630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:56f6954b1ffc90bd7df7533fdf859d1fca8d73e67d28836891b9ecd5c978f579dd9875c6b8eb0ee92ede81281abc3cb4b1ce45cde61cfcdbb73b0b1d3de5a02d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218754/cdc_218754_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.15 MB ]