AsianScientist (Mar. 19, 2018) – In a study published in ACS Nano, a research group in China has developed a gas sensor that mimics the dog’s nose in terms of structure and sensitivity.
It is well known that dogs have a better sense of smell than humans. The inside of a dog’s nose is lined with millions of tiny capillaries, which creates a super-sensitive sense of smell. Since the capillaries cover such a large surface area, they can detect odors at extremely low concentrations.
For years, researchers have been trying to develop an artificial detector that is just as good as a canine’s nose. Previous studies have had some success in using graphene-based nanoscrolls, which are nanosheets of graphene rolled up in continuous and uniform manner. These nanoscrolls have a large surface area, are stable at high temperatures and are strong and durable. But they are also difficult to manufacture, consume a lot of energy and difficult to scale up.
Drawing inspiration from the capillary structure in the dog nose, researchers led by Professor Zhou Goufu of South China Normal University, China, created graphene-based nanoscrolls by subjecting graphene to a freeze-drying method in the presence of a polymer, poly(sodium-p-stryrenesulfonate).
Upon examination, the nanoscrolls had wide, tubular shapes, and almost all of the graphene was rolled up. The researchers also used molecular dynamics simulations to model how these uniform, unaggregated structures were formed.
The researchers then incorporated the nanoscrolls into a gas sensor, which was highly selective and sensitive for the gas, nitric oxide. The team noted that their method has the potential for large-scale production.
The article can be found at: Chen et al. (2018) Mimicking a Dog’s Nose: Scrolling Graphene Nanosheets.
———
Source: American Chemical Society; Photo: Shutterstock.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.
