Abstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are prevalent in daily life, from the lab environment to industrial applications, providing tremendous functionality but also posing significant health risk. Moreover, individual VOCs have individual risks associated with them, making classification and sensing of a broad range of VOCs important. This work details the application of electrochemically dealloyed nanoporous gold (NPG) as a VOC sensor through measurements of the complex electrical frequency response of NPG. By leveraging the effects of adsorption and capillary condensation on the electrical properties of NPG itself, classification and regression is possible. Due to the complex nonlinearities, classification and regression are done through the use of a convolutional neural network. This work also establishes key strategies for improving the performance of NPG, both in sensitivity and selectivity. This is achieved by tuning the electrochemical dealloying process through manipulations of the starting alloy and through functionalization with 1-dodecanethiol.
Highlights
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are universally present in the modern world
We propose two mechanisms by which the frequency response changes in response to changes in the gas phase concentration of VOCs: surface adsorption induced changes in resistance, and condensation induced changes in capacitance
We evaluate the performance of each trained neural network and implement material and surface improvements to achieve a novel, selective VOC sensor based on nanoporous gold (NPG)
Summary
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are universally present in the modern world From their usage in household staples, such as laundry detergent, to their applications in industry, in the form of oil and gas, VOCs are a critical pillar on which modern society rests [1,2]. Due to their high vapor pressure, VOCs inevitably evaporate into surrounding environment, necessitating reliable gas phase sensing [1,3]. While often discussed as a single class of chemicals, individual VOCs pose their own unique health and safety risks These risks are further amplified by the rapid diffusion in the gas phase. VOCs can quickly pose significant health and safety complications over a large area [4,5]
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