A comprehensive study leading to fabrication of a prototype sensor for environmental benzene monitoring is reported. Required high selectivity and ppb-level sensitivity were obtained by coupling a Si-integrated concn. device contg. the specifically designed, EtQxBox cavitand, to a miniaturized PID detector. In the resulting stand-alone sensor, the EtQxBox receptor acts simultaneously with the highly sensitive pre-concentrator for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene (BTEX) and gas chromatog.-like sepn. phase, for the selective desorption of benzene over TEX. Binding energies of complexes among EtQxBox and BTX were calcd. by mol. mechanics. An examn. of corresponding crystal structures confirmed the trend detd. by computational studies; the no. of C-H···N and CH···π interactions increased from 6 to 9 along the series from benzene to o-xylene. EtQxBox anal. performance was exptl. tested by solid phase micro-extn. using the cavitand as fiber coating for BTEX monitoring in air. Cavitand enrichment factors were noticeably higher than those obtained using the com. CAR-DVB-PDMS. Limits of detection and limits of quantification were calcd. in the ng/m3 range and outperformed com. available systems for BTEX adsorption. The desired selective desorption of benzene was achieved by applying a smart temp. program on the EtQxBox mesh, which begins releasing benzene at lower temps. than TEX, as predicted by calcd. binding energies. Sensor performance was exptl. validated and ppbv level sensitivity toward the carcinogenic target arom. benzene was demonstrated as required for environmental benzene exposure monitoring in industrial applications and outdoor environments.
In Search of the Ultimate Benzene Sensor: The EtQxBox Solution / Trzcinski, Jakub W.; Pinalli, Roberta; Riboni, Nicolo'; Pedrini, Alessandro; Bianchi, Federica; Zampolli, Stefano; Elmi, Ivan; Massera, Chiara; Ugozzoli, Franco; Dalcanale, Enrico. - In: ACS SENSORS. - ISSN 2379-3694. - 4:2(2017), pp. 590-598. [10.1021/acssensors.7b00110]
In Search of the Ultimate Benzene Sensor: The EtQxBox Solution
Trzcinski, Jakub W.;PINALLI, Roberta;RIBONI, NICOLO';Pedrini, Alessandro;BIANCHI, Federica;MASSERA, Chiara;UGOZZOLI, Franco;DALCANALE, Enrico
2017-01-01
Abstract
A comprehensive study leading to fabrication of a prototype sensor for environmental benzene monitoring is reported. Required high selectivity and ppb-level sensitivity were obtained by coupling a Si-integrated concn. device contg. the specifically designed, EtQxBox cavitand, to a miniaturized PID detector. In the resulting stand-alone sensor, the EtQxBox receptor acts simultaneously with the highly sensitive pre-concentrator for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene (BTEX) and gas chromatog.-like sepn. phase, for the selective desorption of benzene over TEX. Binding energies of complexes among EtQxBox and BTX were calcd. by mol. mechanics. An examn. of corresponding crystal structures confirmed the trend detd. by computational studies; the no. of C-H···N and CH···π interactions increased from 6 to 9 along the series from benzene to o-xylene. EtQxBox anal. performance was exptl. tested by solid phase micro-extn. using the cavitand as fiber coating for BTEX monitoring in air. Cavitand enrichment factors were noticeably higher than those obtained using the com. CAR-DVB-PDMS. Limits of detection and limits of quantification were calcd. in the ng/m3 range and outperformed com. available systems for BTEX adsorption. The desired selective desorption of benzene was achieved by applying a smart temp. program on the EtQxBox mesh, which begins releasing benzene at lower temps. than TEX, as predicted by calcd. binding energies. Sensor performance was exptl. validated and ppbv level sensitivity toward the carcinogenic target arom. benzene was demonstrated as required for environmental benzene exposure monitoring in industrial applications and outdoor environments.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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