Abstract
This work describes the use of a paper substrate for electro-optical detection of toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas. For electrical detection, a chemiresistive type of gas sensor was developed. Ultrathin gold film electrodes (UTGFE) were produced by physical vapor deposition of gold on nanostructured latex-coated paper substrate. The gas-sensing film was deposited on the electrodes by inkjet printing. The sensing films were characterized by atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and conductometry. The sensing films showed more than seven orders of magnitude change in resistance when exposed to as low as 1 part per million (ppm) H2S gas at room temperature. Besides resistive response, the change in color of the sensing films was studied on a paper substrate, both as a function of print density of the sensing material and H2S concentration. For quantification of the analyte the red, green and blue color deconvolution was performed on the pictures of the paper strip indicator using an open source software. A clear response was obtained from the blue channel. The inexpensive disposable color strips produced on the paper substrate can be used for qualitative and quantitative detection (as low as 1.5 ppm) of H2S gas.
Highlights
In recent years, the interest in paper electronics has significantly increased
This study demonstrates that a low-cost disposable electrical gas-sensing platform on paper substrate using combination of nanostructured paper coatings and ultrathin sensing element can be utilized for the electrical detection of toxic gases
Inkjet-printed sensing films based on copper acetate were developed
Summary
Paper is a low cost, flexible and environment-friendly material. The physico-chemical properties of paper substrate can be tuned. Several paper-based devices and electro-chemical platforms have been reported in the literature [2,3]. Ultrathin films are introduced for different applications including electronic, magnetic and electro-optical devices [4]. Ultrathin gold films are typically employed in microfabricated devices. These gold films display high electrical conductivity and optical reflectivity; they are chemically inert. The weak adhesion of ultrathin gold films to commonly used substrate materials, for instance glass and silica, is a challenge. We have earlier demonstrated mechanically stable ultrathin gold films fabricated on a paper substrate [5]
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