SBIR Phase I: Platform for Printable Chemical Sensors

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目是开发基于功能化碳纳米管(CNT)薄膜的化学传感器平台。功能化碳纳米管薄膜作为化学传感器在诊断、食品安全、工业过程监测、环境监测、国家安全等领域显示出卓越的性能。小巧的外形和令人印象深刻的性能的独特组合使CNT传感器有可能将化学传感带入无数的使用案例，预计到2027年，总市场规模将超过132亿美元，其中一些是目前的传感技术无法解决的。高性能的替代方案需要体积庞大且昂贵的实验室设备，而大多数用户无法采用这些设备。那些具有合适形状因素的化学传感解决方案缺乏碳纳米管的性能。此外，CNT传感器还提供了可打印、灵活和在室温下操作的优势-所有这些都为传感器技术平台做出了贡献，能够极大地扩大可服务的化学传感市场。这项工作将侧重于开发解决两个关键技术挑战的方案。该项目的智力优势将集中在展示使用高纯度半导体碳纳米管作为薄膜传感器平台基础材料的可行性。尽管碳纳米管传感器具有令人印象深刻的性能和较小的占地面积，但由于两大挑战，这些薄膜的商业化进展缓慢甚至根本不存在：第一，由于漂移-碳纳米管薄膜随着时间的推移有退化的趋势-传感器在12-24小时后失效。考虑到高性能碳纳米管传感器需要昂贵的半导体碳纳米管材料，这种快速故障在经济上是不可行的。第二个主要的技术痛点是，当薄膜传感器从实验室过渡到实际应用时，很可能会与干扰物质(如湿度、低分子化合物、温度等)发生反应，导致错误读数。这项拟议的工作将寻求开发解决这两个技术挑战的方案。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop a platform for chemical sensors based on thin films of functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNT). Functionalized CNT thin films have demonstrated remarkable performance as chemical sensors in applications as varied as diagnostics, food safety, industrial process monitoring, environmental monitoring, national security, and more. The unique combination of small form-factor and impressive performance give CNT sensors the potential to bring chemical sensing to a myriad of use cases, with a combined market of over $13.2 billion projected by 2027, some which are not addressable with current sensing technologies. High-performance alternatives require bulky and expensive lab-based equipment that cannot be adopted by most users. Those chemical sensing solutions that do have suitable form factors lack the performance of CNTs. Moreover, CNT sensors also offer the benefit of being printable, flexible, and operating at room temperature—all of which contribute to a sensor technology platform with the ability to drastically expand the serviceable chemical sensing market. This work will focus on developing solutions to two key technical challenges. The intellectual merit of this project will focus on demonstrating the feasibility of using high-purity semiconducting CNTs as the basis material for a thin-film sensor platform. Despite the impressive performance and small footprint of CNT sensors, commercialization of these thin films has been slow to non-existent due to two major challenges: First, due to drift – the tendency of CNT thin-films to degrade over time – sensors fail after 12–24 hours. Given that high-performance CNT sensors require expensive semiconducting CNT materials, such rapid failure is not economically viable. The second major technical pain point is that when transitioned from the lab to real-world applications, thin-film sensors are likely to react with interferents (e.g. humidity, low-molecular-weight compounds, temperature, etc.), resulting in false readings. This proposed work will seek to develop solutions to both technical challenges.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.