Validation and Characterization of Micro Gas Analyzer for Enhanced Gas Detection

室内空气质量受到挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）的严重影响，即使浓度很低（通常在十亿分之一（ppb）范围内），也会对健康造成严重危害。固态化学传感器通常由高度工程化的廉价材料制成，对挥发性有机化合物非常敏感，而且易于制造。然而，最大的挑战是对特定目标气体的选择性或交叉灵敏度。我们计划与我们的行业合作伙伴Alphatron技术公司合作，开发一种基于纳米技术的新型智能传感器系统，用于选择性和敏感地监测室内环境中特定VOCs的需求控制通风。这将通过在定义明确的结构中使用新型纳米材料，通过热和辐射能量激活，以及在优化条件下操作传感器系统以增强性能来实现。将研究两种不同类型的半导体气敏材料：1)由alphatron技术开发的材料，由热能激活；2)由UBCresearch团队合成的新型传感材料，由led发出的紫外线辐射激活。在这项研究中开发的传感器系统与室内空气质量的综合用户界面相结合，预计将在北美及其他地区找到相当大的市场，特别是如果系统直观且成本低的话。

Quality of indoor air is strongly affected by volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which pose a serious healthrisk even at very low concentrations (usually at part-per-billion, ppb, range). Solid-state chemical sensors thatare typically made of highly engineered inexpensive materials are quite sensitive to VOCs and are easy tofabricate. However, the biggest challenges are selectivity to a particular target gas or cross-sensitivity.In collaboration with our industry partner, Alphatron technology, we plan to develop a novel nanotechnologybased intelligent sensor systems for selective and sensitive monitoring of particular VOCs fordemand-controlled ventilation in indoor environments. This will be achieved by employing novelnanomaterials in well-defined structures, activated by thermal and radiation energy as well as operating sensorsystems in optimized conditions for enhanced performance.Two different classes of semiconductor gas-sensing material will be studied: 1) The material developed byAlphatron technology, activated by thermal energy, and 2) The new sensing materials synthesized by UBCresearch team activated by UV radiation emitted from LEDs.Sensor systems developed in this research combined with a comprehensive user interface for indoor air qualityis expected to find a considerable market in North America and beyond, especially if the systems are intuitiveand available at low cost.