Advanced nano-engineered materials for lower cost breath-alcohol sensors

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Impaired driving in Canada resulted in 1,200 fatalities and 73,000 injuries in 2007, with an annual cost to Canadians exceeding $2.2 billion. Thus, on-board breath alcohol testers have been developed to prevent the operation of vehicles if the alcohol content of the driver is above a preset safety limit. As the application of this technology is now expanding to include commercial transport, industrial and military vehicles, the cost of the device must be reduced, while also retaining accuracy and responsiveness. Supported strongly by Alcohol Countermeasure Systems Corp. (ACS), the proposed research involves the discovery, evaluation, and implementation of the next generation of electrocatalysts and catalyst supports for application in commercial ACS breath alcohol (ethanol) sensors. Based on similar concepts employed in direct ethanol fuel cells, these sensors will be specifically designed using high performance catalyst materials that rely far less on high noble metal content than is currently the case. Initial research will involve the construction of new sensors based on commercially available platinum (Pt) nanoparticles supported on various types of carbon, thus replacing the very thick layers of Pt in existing sensors. In entirely new directions, novel carbon support materials, containing ordered pores of controllable diameters and depths, will be used more fully utilize the Pt catalyst. These carbons will be surface modified to control their wettability and to enhance the bonding of the Pt nanoparticles, thus enhancing sensor stability. Other new directions will involve the synthesis of nanoparticles composed of the lower cost metals and coating these with a thin shell of Pt, thus further lowering the cost of anode and cathode catalysts. These advances in electrochemical sensor manufacturing and material design will improve the long-term performance of the alcohol sensor, increasing the ability of ACS to design new products with enhanced features. This work will thus provide more cost effective and durable sensors for the prevention of impaired driving in Canada and world-wide, thereby significantly increasing public safety and reducing societal costs.