On Monday, the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) announced that it has developed the world’s first CuBr-based ammonia (NH3) gas sensor. This sensor can be manufactured using a simple solution process at low temperatures.
This gas sensor technology was developed by a research team led by Dr. Yoon Jong Won, Dr. Kwon Jeong Dae, and Dr. Kim Yong Hoon from the Energy and Environmental Materials Research Division. It offers a trifecta of benefits: flexibility, high sensitivity, and selectivity, all while reducing manufacturing costs.
Ammonia gas sensors detect ammonia in the air and are used for indoor and outdoor environmental monitoring, hazardous gas detection in industrial settings, and disease diagnosis. The copper bromide film used in the sensor exhibits a significant change in electrical resistance when exposed to ammonia, enabling it to detect even trace amounts of the ammonia gas.
Previously, producing copper bromide films for such sensors required a high-temperature vacuum process of over 932°F. This limitation made applying the technology to heat-sensitive flexible substrates challenging and resulted in high production costs.
The KIMS research team overcame these problems by developing a technology that forms two-dimensional copper nanosheets on a substrate at temperatures below 500°C (302°F) without the need for a vacuum process. The copper bromide film is then synthesized using a simple solution process. As a result, the research team succeeded in creating an ammonia gas sensor on a plastic substrate.
The new sensor boasts high sensitivity, detecting ammonia concentrations as low as one part per million. It significantly reduced production costs, making it ideal for wearable sensors and diagnostic medical devices. The sensor’s durability was tested in experiments where it was bent over 1,000 times. It consistently demonstrated stable operation and maintained its high performance.
Dr. Jongwon Yoon, the lead researcher, expressed enthusiasm about the sensor’s potential applications, saying, “Our ammonia sensor opens up exciting possibilities to be expanded to flexible and wearable devices. Its applications range from monitoring indoor air quality to personal health management. We’re particularly excited about its potential use as a disease diagnostic tool, capable of analyzing exhaled breath when attached to the body.”
Kim Tae Wook from Jeonbuk National University and Kim Hong Seung from Korea Maritime and Ocean University collaborated on the research. The project received support from several key initiatives, including the Global TOP Project of the National Research Council of Science and Technology, the Nano and Material Technology Development Project of the National Research Foundation of Korea, and core projects of the Korea Institute of Materials Science.
The research team’s findings were published online on March 6 in the global academic journal Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical.