Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Ternary Holey Carbon nanohorns/KCl/PVP Nanohybrid As Sensing Film For Resistive Humidity Sensor

Bogdan-Catalin Serban
* ,
Octavian Buiu
* ,
Marius Bumbac
* ORCID logo ,
Nicolae Dumbravescu
,
Cristina Pachiu
,
Mihai Brezeanu
,
Gabriel Craciun
,
Cristina Mihaela Nicolescu
,
Vlad Diaconescu
,
Cornel Cobianu
Version 1 : Received: 7 March 2024 / Approved: 7 March 2024 / Online: 8 March 2024 (09:57:11 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Serban, B.-C.; Buiu, O.; Bumbac, M.; Dumbravescu, N.; Pachiu, C.; Brezeanu, M.; Craciun, G.; Nicolescu, C.M.; Diaconescu, V.; Cobianu, C. Ternary Holey Carbon Nanohorn/Potassium Chloride/Polyvinylpyrrolidone Nanohybrid as Sensing Film for Resistive Humidity Sensor. Coatings 2024, 14, 517. Serban, B.-C.; Buiu, O.; Bumbac, M.; Dumbravescu, N.; Pachiu, C.; Brezeanu, M.; Craciun, G.; Nicolescu, C.M.; Diaconescu, V.; Cobianu, C. Ternary Holey Carbon Nanohorn/Potassium Chloride/Polyvinylpyrrolidone Nanohybrid as Sensing Film for Resistive Humidity Sensor. Coatings 2024, 14, 517.

Abstract

We report the relative humidity (R.H.) sensing response of a resistive sensor, employing sensing layers based on a ternary nanohybrid comprising holey carbon nanohorns (CNHox), potassium chloride (KCl), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) at mass ratios 7/1/2, 6.5/1.5/2, and 6/2/2 (w/w/w/w). The sensing structure comprises a silicon substrate, a SiO2 layer, and interdigitated transducer (IDT) electrodes. The sensing film is deposited on the sensing structure via the drop-casting method. The sensing layers' morphology and composition are investigated through Scanning Electron Microscopy (S.E.M.) and RAMAN spectroscopy. The ternary hybrid-based thin film resistance increases when the sensors are exposed to R.H., ranging from 0% to 100%. The manufactured devices show a room temperature response comparable to a commercial capacitive R.H. sensor and are characterized by excellent linearity, rapid response time, and good sensitivity. The presented sensors exhibit superior performance in terms of sensitivity compared to other similarly manufactured and tested sensors that employ a CNHox-based sensing layer. We explain the sensing role of each constituent of the ternary hybrid nanocomposites based on their chemical and physical properties, electronic properties, and affinity for water molecules. Different alternative sensing mechanisms are considered and discussed, such as the decreasing number of holes in the holey CNHox at the interaction with water molecules, proton conduction, and PVP swelling.

Keywords

holey carbon nanohorns (CNHox); potassium chloride (KCl); polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP); nanohybrid; resistive R.H. sensor

Subject

Chemistry and Materials Science, Surfaces, Coatings and Films

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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