Formaldehyde Molecular Recognition Microsensor

描述(申请人提供)：这个分三个阶段的小企业创新研究项目解决了公共卫生保护中最重要的问题之一：监测室内空气质量和控制住宅、写字楼和工业建筑的通风系统。提出了一种新型的检测空气中气态甲醛的新型微型传感器。该传感方法利用暴露在甲醛中时在氧化锡的一层中引起的电导率变化。通过具有亚纳米孔的惰性保护层在氧化锡表面形成图案，消除了对其他挥发性有机化学品的交叉敏感性，每个保护层的形状都选择性地容纳了单一的甲醛分子。将这种新型传感材料集成到高面积纳米结构传感器平台中，将能够生产出高灵敏度、高选择性、低功耗和低成本的甲醛微型传感器。第一阶段项目将通过制造传感器并在模拟室内空气污染的条件下对其进行全面测试来证明建议方法的可行性。为了确保成功的第二阶段产品开发和第三阶段商业化，已经与能源应用部件和系统的领先开发商之一建立了合作伙伴关系。通过将配位化学与纳米技术和微制造相结合，所提出的方法可能使一系列新的低成本、高灵敏度和选择性的传感器系统能够精确地定量监测人类对毒物的暴露。因此，拟议的研究与国家环境健康科学研究所的使命高度相关。 公共卫生相关性：该项目解决了公共卫生保护中最重要的问题之一：监测室内空气质量，并控制住宅、办公室和工业建筑的通风系统。甲醛是一种最普遍、对人体健康危害最大的空气污染物之一，开发新型的先进传感器用于检测甲醛是一种新的传感器。拟议的技术将使一系列新的高性能和低成本传感器系统能够产生接触点人类接触有害化学品的精确和定量测量。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This three-phase Small Business Innovation Research project addresses one the most significant problems in public health protection: monitoring of indoor air quality and controlling the ventilation systems in residential, office and industrial buildings. The development of a novel advanced microsensor for detecting gaseous formaldehyde in air is proposed. The sensing method utilizes the conductivity change induced, upon exposure to formaldehyde, in a layer of tin oxide. Cross-sensitivity to other volatile organic chemicals is eliminated by patterning of the tin oxide surface by an inert protecting layer with sub-nanometer pores, each shaped to selectively host a single formaldehyde molecule. Incorporation of this novel sensing material into a high-area nanostructured sensor platform will enable production of highly sensitive, selective, low-power, and low-cost formaldehyde microsensors. The Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach through fabrication of sensors and their comprehensive testing in conditions simulating contaminated indoor air. To ensure successful Phase II product development and Phase III commercialization, partnership has been secured with one of the leading developers of components and systems for energy applications. By combining coordination chemistry with nanotechnology and microfabrication, the proposed approach is likely to enable a novel family of low-cost highly sensitive and selective sensor systems for precise quantitative monitoring of human exposures to toxicants. Thus, the proposed research is highly relevant to the mission of the National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences. Public Health Relevance: The project addresses one the most significant problems in public health protection: monitoring of indoor air quality and controlling the ventilation systems in residential, office, and industrial buildings. The development of novel advanced sensors for detecting formaldehyde - one of the most ubiquitous and dangerous for human health air contaminants - is proposed. The proposed technology will enable a novel family of high-performance and low-cost sensor systems for generating precise and quantitative measures of human exposure to harmful chemicals at the point of contact.