Sensitivity, selectivity, and stability of a palladium-loaded single-walled carbon nanotube methane gas sensor

Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 2017.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: McGee, Melissa Keiko
Other Authors: Michael S. Strano.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/111336
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author McGee, Melissa Keiko
author2 Michael S. Strano.
author_facet Michael S. Strano.
McGee, Melissa Keiko
author_sort McGee, Melissa Keiko
collection MIT
description Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 2017.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1113362019-04-12T22:28:41Z Sensitivity, selectivity, and stability of a palladium-loaded single-walled carbon nanotube methane gas sensor McGee, Melissa Keiko Michael S. Strano. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Materials Science and Engineering. Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 2017. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 48-49). There exists a need to detect methane (CH₄) gas, and optical sensors provide many advantages over electronic sensors. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) can be used as optical sensors, as SWNTs emit fluorescence upon photoexcitation. The photoluminescent (PL) intensity upon excitation depends on the electronic structure of the SWNT. Here, SWNTs are loaded with palladium (Pd) nanoparticles using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The Pd-loaded SWNTs offer a detection mechanism for methane (CH 4) by comparing the PL intensity before and after exposure to CH₄.A significant PL change (relative to the experiment) indicates a "turn-on" response to CH₄ Preliminary experiments showed no response to CH4 at zero and high (>10mM) Pd loading in both aqueous solution and film, indicating that there must be an optimal Pd concentration in the middle. This optimal loading for methane response was found to be in the range 2.61mM - 5.21mM Pd²+. The Pd-SWNTs in aqueous solution showed selectivity to CH₄ over nitrogen gas (N₂ and ambient air (20-22% O₂). SDS-SWNT (the control) showed a significant response to N₂ and air while Pd-SWNTs in aqueous solution showed the greatest response to methane. In film, the optimal Pd-loading (5.21mM) for sensitivity was found to exhibit an inexplicable high response to N₂ but still displayed selectivity to methane over ambient air. Pd-SWNTs in aqueous solution and film showed stability of response over time. Pd- SWNTs in aqueous solution maintained the PL intensity with a minor decrease (3- 19% decrease) in Day 14 as compared to Day 1. Pd-SWNT in aqueous solution showed turn-on response under the methane gas in Day 14. In film, the optimal Pd-loading (5.21mM) and a lower Pd-loaded SWNT (2.61mM) displayed a turn-on response to methane after 14 days, showing stability in response over time. This work has thus demonstrated an optimally Pd-loaded SWNT that is sensitive, selective, and stable over time to methane gas. by Melissa Keiko McGee. S.B. 2017-09-15T15:29:41Z 2017-09-15T15:29:41Z 2017 2017 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/111336 1003290815 eng MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 55 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Materials Science and Engineering.
McGee, Melissa Keiko
Sensitivity, selectivity, and stability of a palladium-loaded single-walled carbon nanotube methane gas sensor
title Sensitivity, selectivity, and stability of a palladium-loaded single-walled carbon nanotube methane gas sensor
title_full Sensitivity, selectivity, and stability of a palladium-loaded single-walled carbon nanotube methane gas sensor
title_fullStr Sensitivity, selectivity, and stability of a palladium-loaded single-walled carbon nanotube methane gas sensor
title_full_unstemmed Sensitivity, selectivity, and stability of a palladium-loaded single-walled carbon nanotube methane gas sensor
title_short Sensitivity, selectivity, and stability of a palladium-loaded single-walled carbon nanotube methane gas sensor
title_sort sensitivity selectivity and stability of a palladium loaded single walled carbon nanotube methane gas sensor
topic Materials Science and Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/111336
work_keys_str_mv AT mcgeemelissakeiko sensitivityselectivityandstabilityofapalladiumloadedsinglewalledcarbonnanotubemethanegassensor