Superior Acetone Selectivity in Gas Mixtures by Catalyst‐Filtered Chemoresistive Sensors

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Date
2020-10-07Type
- Journal Article
Citations
Cited 34 times in
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Cited 38 times in
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Abstract
Acetone is a toxic air pollutant and a key breath marker for non‐invasively monitoring fat metabolism. Its routine detection in realistic gas mixtures (i.e., human breath and indoor air), however, is challenging, as low‐cost acetone sensors suffer from insufficient selectivity. Here, a compact detector for acetone sensing is introduced, having unprecedented selectivity (>250) over the most challenging interferants (e.g., alcohols, aldehydes, aromatics, isoprene, ammonia, H2, and CO). That way, acetone is quantified with fast response (<1 min) down to, at least, 50 parts per billion (ppb) in gas mixtures with such interferants having up to two orders of magnitude higher concentration than acetone at realistic relative humidities (RH = 30–90%). The detector consists of a catalytic packed bed (30 mg) of flame‐made Al2O3 nanoparticles (120 m2 g−1) decorated with Pt nanoclusters (average size 9 nm) and a highly sensitive chemo‐resistive sensor made by flame aerosol deposition and in situ annealing of nanostructured Si‐doped ε‐WO3 (Si/WO3). Most importantly, the catalytic packed bed converts interferants continuously enabling highly selective acetone sensing even in the exhaled breath of a volunteer. The detector exhibits stable performance over, at least, 145 days at 90% RH, as validated by mass spectrometry. Show more
Permanent link
https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000431633Publication status
publishedExternal links
Journal / series
Advanced ScienceVolume
Pages / Article No.
Publisher
WileySubject
Breath analysis; Environmental monitoring; Semiconductors; Solid-state gas sensors; WearablesOrganisational unit
03510 - Pratsinis, Sotiris E. / Pratsinis, Sotiris E.
09794 - Güntner, Andreas / Güntner, Andreas
Funding
170729 - Integrated system for in operando characterization and development of portable breath analyzers (SNF)
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Show all metadata
Citations
Cited 34 times in
Web of Science
Cited 38 times in
Scopus
ETH Bibliography
yes
Altmetrics