Humidity Sensor Chips Based on Gold Nanoparticles/PVA/Carbon Black Composite Film

Abstract

The research explores gold nanoparticles (NPs)/PVA/carbon black composite film and their further applications in humidity sensor chips, which include: 1. Novel humidity sensitive Au NPs/PVA/carbon black composite film has been prepared; 2. Humidity sensor chips based on Au NPs/PVA/carbon black composite film devices has been fabricated. The initial research works have been focused on the preparation of gold nanoparticles/PVA/carbon black composite film and the fabrication of humidity sensor chips. Performance of as-fabricated humidity sensor devices has been investigated and compared. In this work, the Au NPs are added to a highly plasticized polymer film doped with electrically conductive carbon black particles. As the film is exposed in the water vapor and its structural conformation changes, the Au NPs and carbon black particles would be redistributed, thereby changing the electrical resistance of the device. Humidity sensor chips have been fabricated using the Au NPs/polymer/carbon black composite film with the pixels defined through screen printer or chip writer. By converting the signals into a recorder, the changes of humidity can be tracked over the chip. The success of the research not only prepares novel humidity sensitive materials, but also provides promising applications in fabricating humidity sensor chips, which with low cost, reliable humidity detector other than those reported.