Design of a Solid-State Electrochemical Methane Sensor Based on Laser-Induced Graphene
| dc.contributor.author | Dosi, Manan | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-08-17T15:47:00Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-08-17T15:47:00Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2018-08-17 | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2018-08-15 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with significant, yet largely unknown, emissions occurring across gas distribution networks and mining/extraction infrastructure. The development of low-cost, low-power electrochemical sensors could provide an inexpensive means to carry out distributed and easy sensing over the entire network and to identify leaks for rapid mitigation. In this work, a simple and cost-effective approach is proposed for developing electrochemical methane sensors which operate at room temperature with the highest reported sensitivity and response time. Laser-induced graphene (LIG) technology, which selectively carbonizes commercial polyimide films using a low-cost CO₂ laser cutting and patterning system is utilized. Interdigitated LIG electrodes are infiltrated with a dilute palladium (Pd) nanoparticle dispersion which distributes within and coats the high surface area LIG electrode. A pseudo-solid state electrolyte ionic liquid (IL)/polyvinylidene fluoride was painted onto the flexible cell resulting in a porous electrolyte structure which allows for rapid gas transport and improved three-phase contact between methane, IL and Pd. By subjecting the resulting sensors to methane in a gas flow cell, with off-gas analysis analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the performance of the sensor over a wide range of operating conditions can be determined and the methane oxidation mechanism can be investigated. The optimized system provides a rapid response (less than 50 s) and high sensitivity (0.55 μA/ppm/cm²) enabling a ppb-level detection limit. | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10012/13605 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.pending | false | |
| dc.publisher | University of Waterloo | en |
| dc.title | Design of a Solid-State Electrochemical Methane Sensor Based on Laser-Induced Graphene | en |
| dc.type | Master Thesis | en |
| uws-etd.degree | Master of Applied Science | en |
| uws-etd.degree.department | Chemical Engineering | en |
| uws-etd.degree.discipline | Chemical Engineering | en |
| uws-etd.degree.grantor | University of Waterloo | en |
| uws.contributor.advisor | Fowler, Michael | |
| uws.contributor.affiliation1 | Faculty of Engineering | en |
| uws.peerReviewStatus | Unreviewed | en |
| uws.published.city | Waterloo | en |
| uws.published.country | Canada | en |
| uws.published.province | Ontario | en |
| uws.scholarLevel | Graduate | en |
| uws.typeOfResource | Text | en |