Nanofiber Gas Sensor Web for Low-Concentration Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gas sensors have limited sensitivity and are costly, making them inadequate for detecting target substances at low concentrations in industrial applications, and they often require complex processes that compromise mechanical strength and handling.
Innovation Solution
A fiber web for gas sensors is developed using a method that incorporates a spinning solution with a dispersed sensing material and fiber-forming material, allowing for nanofibers with increased surface exposure of the sensing material, improved mechanical strength, and ease of handling, enabling detection of low-concentration target substances with enhanced sensitivity and cost-effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a sensing material is provided as a powder coating or thin film, then the gas sensor can detect target substances, but the sensitivity is low for target substances at low concentrations (1 ppm or less)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a fiber web structure with inherent porosity and high surface area-to-volume ratio, allowing increased contact between the sensing material and target gas molecules. The fibrous network provides numerous pathways for gas diffusion and maximizes the exposed surface area of sensing material particles, thereby enhancing detection sensitivity for low-concentration target substances.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines sensing material particles with a fiber web matrix to create a composite structure. This composite approach integrates the detection functionality of the sensing material with the structural advantages of the fiber web, achieving both high sensitivity and mechanical integrity for reliable low-concentration detection.
2Measurement precision
If conventional high-sensitivity gas sensors (semiconductor oxide or electrochemical sensors) are used to detect low-concentration target substances, then detection sensitivity is improved, but the cost increases and applicability to entire industrial fields is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a disposable fiber web-based gas sensor that uses inexpensive sensing material particles embedded in a simple fiber web structure. This approach sacrifices long-term durability for low cost and ease of manufacture, allowing widespread industrial application where replacement is feasible. The sensor provides high sensitivity detection at low cost but is designed for limited service life.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical form and configuration parameters of the sensing material from conventional solid blocks or thin films to dispersed particles within a fibrous matrix. This parameter change enables the use of cheaper materials and simpler manufacturing processes while maintaining or improving detection sensitivity through increased surface area exposure.
3Area of stationary object
If nanofibers are spun from a spinning solution containing sensing material, then the surface area for target substance detection is increased, but aggregation of nanofibers may occur reducing uniformity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating sensing material particles on the surface and within the structure of individual nanofibers rather than uniformly distributing them throughout the bulk. This localized placement ensures that the sensing material is positioned where it can maximum contact with target gases while maintaining nanofiber structural integrity and uniformity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-dispersing sensing material particles in the spinning solution before the electrospinning process. This pre-dispersion step ensures uniform distribution of sensing material throughout the polymer solution, preventing aggregation during fiber formation and ensuring consistent sensing material placement in the final nanofiber structure.
4Strength
If the fiber web is subjected to external force, then handling and mechanical strength are improved, but the ability to detect target substances may change
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a segmented fiber web structure where sensing material particles are distributed throughout and on the surface of individual nanofibers. This segmentation ensures that mechanical deformation of the web does not concentrate stress on any single sensing material particle, distributing the mechanical load and preserving detection ability across the entire sensor.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible fiber web matrix that can accommodate mechanical deformation without compromising the sensing functionality. The thin, flexible nature of the fiber web allows it to bend and deform under external forces while maintaining the structural integrity of embedded sensing material particles and preserving their ability to detect target substances.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The fiber web achieves high sensitivity and mechanical strength, allowing for effective detection of target substances at low concentrations, suitable for industrial applications, including VOCs and hazardous gases, while minimizing aggregation and maintaining detection ability under external forces.
Implementation Method 1
a material capable of detecting a target substance contained in a test gas
Implementation Method 2
exhibits excellent spinning ability; a fiber web for a gas sensor having improved sensitivity due to having an increased area of contact and reaction with a target substance
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a fiber web for a gas sensor. In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a fiber web for a gas sensor including nanofibers including a fiber-forming material and a sensing material for reacting with a target substance in a test gas. According to the exemplary embodiment, the fiber web for a gas sensor is capable of identifying the presence or absence of a target substance in a test gas and quantitatively determining the concentration of a target substance, and exhibits improved sensitivity due to having an increased area of contact and reaction with a target substance contained in a test gas. In addition, the fiber web for a gas sensor facilitates the detection of a target substance in a test gas at a low cost and thus can be widely used for the detection of various volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in households, the diagnosis of asthma or esophagitis or the identification of a patient suffering from the same, and the detection of hazardous materials in other fields of industrial safety.