An optical lens that senses gas

Nanowerk  June 26, 2024 Hybrid glasses derived from meltable metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) promise to combine the intriguing properties of MOFs with the universal processing ability of glasses. Researchers in Germany developed optical-quality glasses derived from the zeolitic imidazole framework which allowed them to perform in-depth studies of optical transparency and refraction across the ultraviolet to near-infrared spectral range. Using this fundamental data, they demonstrated the fabrication of micro-optical devices by thermal imprinting. They showed that concave as well as convex lens structures could be obtained at high precision by remelting the glass without trading-off on material quality. This enabled multifunctional […]

Laser writing may enable ‘electronic nose’ for multi-gas sensor

Science Daily  June 30, 2022 Laser-induced thermal voxels (LITV) offer a facile platform to directly integrate nanocrystalline metal oxide and mixed metal oxide materials onto heating platforms, with access to a wide variety of compositions and morphologies including many transition metals and noble metals. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University combined laser writing and responsive sensor technologies to fabricate the first highly customizable microscale gas sensing devices. They investigated the sensing performance of a representative set of n-type and p-type LITV-deposited metal oxides and their mixtures (CuO, NiO, CuO/ZnO, and Fe2O3/Pt) in response to reducing and oxidizing gases (H2S, NO2, NH3, […]

A colorful detector: Crystalline material reversibly changes color when absorbing water

Science Daily  August 25, 2020 To ensure safety and efficiency factories often need to be monitored for potentially toxic gasses or even excess humidity. Sensors for water vapor are particularly important for monitoring toxic gasses or even excess humidity. But they may have limited lifetimes or require external power. An international team of researchers (Japan, Spain) formed van der Waals porous crystal (VPC-1) from an aromatic dendrimer containing carbon rings anchored to a dibenzophenazine core. Even though van der Waals forces are usually considered to be relatively weak, the crystal stays together during operation. Upon exposure to water vapor, the […]