An Ethanol Vapor Sensor Based on a Microfiber with a Quantum-Dot Gel Coating

Resistive-Based Gas Sensors Using Quantum Dots: A Review

Quantum dots (QDs) are used progressively in sensing areas because of their special electrical properties due to their extremely small size. This paper discusses the gas sensing features of QD-based resistive sensors. Different types of pristine, doped, composite, and noble metal decorated QDs are discussed. In particular, the review focus primarily on the sensing mechanisms suggested for these gas sensors. QDs show a high sensing performance at generally low temperatures owing to their extremely small sizes, making them promising materials for the realization of reliable and high-output gas-sensing devices.

Multi-parameter sensing based on surface plasma resonance with tungsten disulfide sheets coated

A tungsten disulfide (WS₂) coated surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on gradient pitch Mach-Zehnder interferometer (GP-MZI) for measuring ethanol vapor concentration is proposed and verified by experiments. Under continuous CO₂ laser heating, a MZI based on GP helix structure is fabricated by twisting single mode fiber (SMF), which can excites multi-order cladding modes. A gold film is deposited on the surface of the GP helix structure by a magnetic sputtering coating machine. WS₂ film is coated on the gold film of the GP helix structure, which increases the evanescent field strength of the twisted structure surface and enhances the interaction between SPR wave and ethanol molecules. Since the absorption of ethanol molecules by WS₂ sheets will cause the change of effective refractive index (RI) of WS₂ film, the intensity of transmission signal can be adjusted accordingly. For multi-order cladding modes, the effective RI and the effective thermo-optic coefficient vary with the modal order, so the RI and temperature sensitivity of different modal orders are also different. So, the ethanol vapor concentration, relative humidity (RH), and temperature can be simultaneously measured by monitoring the intensity of those dips with the resolution of ± 0.030 mg/L, ±0.035%RH, and ± 0.010 ℃, respectively. This sensor structure provides a promising platform for multi-parameter sensing applications.

Special Issue "Advanced Nanomaterials Based Gas Sensors"

During the last several years, according to the works published in research journals, many nanostructured materials have been tested as sensing materials for gas-sensing applications. This trend has been observed for both metal oxides as well as carbon-based nanomaterials. More recently, it has also been extended to other materials based on chalcogenides. The field of applications for these sensors is very wide, including air quality, industrial safety and medical diagnosis, using different transducing mechanisms. Therefore, in this Special Issue, we have put together recent advances in this area.