With the goal of improving chemical detection methods for buried improvised explosive
devices (IED’s), the intention of this study is to show that functionalized nano-particles
improve the sensing properties of a polymer applied to gas sensors. The approach was
reinforcing the polymer, Nafion, with acid-functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNT’s).
Ammonia was chosen as the analyte for its similarity to IED byproducts without the
dangers of toxicity or explosion. Two sensor platforms were investigated: Quartz crystal
microbalances (QCM’s) and microcantilevers (MC’s). Preliminary evaluation of treated
QCM’s, via frequency analyzer, showed improvements in sensitivity and fast reversal of
adsorption; and suggested increased stability. Tests with coated MC’s also supported the
findings of QCM tests. Amplitude response of MC’s was on average 4 times greater
when the Nafion coating contained CNT’s. Quantitative QCM testing with gas-flow
meters showed that with CNT inclusion: the average number of moles adsorbed increased
by 35% (>1.2 times frequency response); sensitivity improved by 0.63 Hz/ppt on average; although the detection threshold decreased marginally; but reusability was
much better after extended exposures to concentrated ammonia. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_13058 |
| Contributors | Davis, Charles (author), Mahfuz, Hassan (Thesis advisor), College of Engineering and Computer Science (Degree grantor), Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 54p., Online Resource |
| Rights | All rights reserved by the source institution, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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