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Microwave gas sensor based on graphene aerogels

Wu, Yang; Restifo-Pecorella, Gabriele; Verderame, Gianluca; Galhena, Thanuja; Hodge, Stephen; Joyce, Hannah; Livreri, Patrizia; (2023) Microwave gas sensor based on graphene aerogels. IEEE Sensors Journal (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

— In this article, the experimental demonstration of a novel microwave gas sensor based on graphene aerogel is presented. This device makes use of a highly porous structure of the aerogel in combination with the modulation of graphene AC conductivity upon exposure to vacuum and ambient air. As a proof of concept, we integrate the graphene aerogel into rectangular waveguides and measure its scattering parameters by a Vector network Analyzer (VNA). The aerogel is characterized by a combination of scanning electron microscopy and four-probe DC measurements. The aerogel is integrated into WR-90 waveguides by custom-designed support and wave propagation is tested over the 8-12 GHz frequency range (Xband). By exposing the aerogel to either air or a moderate vacuum, clear shifts in the waveguide scattering parameters are observed. In particular, changes of ≈ 3 dB and ≈ 1 dB in the transmission and reflection parameters of the waveguide are obtained, respectively. Moreover, the sensor exhibits excellent reproducibility when exposed to alternating cycles of air and vacuum, proving that the shifts in microwave transmission and reflection are caused by changes in the conductivity of the graphene aerogel due to the absorption and desorption of gas molecules. These proof-of-concept results pave the way for the development of a new class of gas sensors for applications such as breath analysis.

Type: Article
Title: Microwave gas sensor based on graphene aerogels
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Publisher version: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/home.jsp
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
Keywords: Gas sensor, graphene, graphene aerogel, microwave.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > London Centre for Nanotechnology
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10173230
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