Enhancing Ammonia Sensor Sensitivity by CuBr Encapsulation in a Mesoporous Host

Abstract

A resistive room-temperature ammonia sensor has been developed by CuBr impregnation of a mesoporous SiO2 host prepared by the sol–gel process and deposited by dip-coating. The mesoporous sensor performances are compared with those of a single CuBr layer. The CuBr encapsulation in a mesoporous host leads to an impressive sensitivity improvement with sub-ppm detection of ammonia at room temperature. The results open new perspectives for the development of highly sensitive chemical sensors and are of great interest for non-invasive health monitoring.

Keywords

• room-temperature sensor
• ammonia detection
• sol–gel mesoporous sensor