Abstract
Graphene is a key material for gas sensing applications owing to its high specific surface area and vast chemical modification potential. To fully utilize the potential of graphene, a sensing platform independent of conductive properties is required. In this study, we employed membrane-type surface stress sensors (MSS)—A kind of nanomechanical sensor operated in the static mode—As a sensing platform and utilized graphene oxide (GO) as a gas sensing material. MSS detect surface stress caused by gas sorption; therefore, chemically modified graphene with low conductivity can be utilized as a gas sensing material. We evaluated the sensing performance of a GO-coated MSS by measuring its responses to five gases. We demonstrated with the GO-coated MSS the feasibility of GO as a gas sensing material for static mode nanomechanical sensors and revealed its high selectivity to water vapor. Moreover, we investigated the sensing mechanism of the GO-coated MSS by comparing it with the sensing performance of MSS coated with reduced graphene oxide and graphite powder and deduced key factors for sensitivity and selectivity. Considering the high sensitivity of the GO-coated MSS and the compact measurement system that MSS can realize, the present study provides a new perspective on the sensing applications of graphene.
Highlights
Since being first isolated in 2004, graphene has been widely studied in many fields, rangingSince being first isolated in 2004, graphene has been widely studied in many fields, ranging from from fundamental science to industrial applications [1,2]
To evaluate the size distribution of the graphene oxide (GO) flakes, dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements were performed on the GO suspension
The results indicate that a flake size of less than 1 μm was dominant in the GO suspension (Figure 3e)
Summary
Since being first isolated in 2004, graphene has been widely studied in many fields, ranging from from fundamental science to industrial applications [1,2]. Many studies have reported its potential as a sensing material for chemical species applications. Many studies have reported its potential as a sensing material for chemical species such such as gases, ions, and proteins [3,4,5,6]. Most of these studies have described sensors based on as gases, ions, and proteins [3,4,5,6]. Owing to this trade-off relationship, the advantages of graphene cannot be fully utilized in to this trade-off relationship, the advantages of graphene cannot be fully utilized in such sensing such sensing applications
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