Application of electrospun thin films for supra-molecule based gas sensing

Methods for preparation of high-quality thin films for fabrication of selective supra-molecular based gas sensors are proposed. Several thin films were developed for sensing of methane, ammonia, volatile organic gas compounds, and humidity. The thin films were deposited using a custom-made electrospraying set-up. Using this system, we employed suitable metal-organic framework materials to fabricate sensors for detection of organic vapours at different concentrations for the first time to the best of our knowledge. Cryptophane A was synthesized and incorporated in thin films that were deposited on the surface of quartz resonators in two different ways of electrospinning using siloxane polymers and spin-coating( followed by exposure) with SU-8 for methane sensing. The detection limit of the fabricated sensors is lower than the best reported values for similar sensors. Thin films of different ratios of poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(acrylic acid) were electrospun and used for effective detection and sensing of ammonia and humidity. The results of this thesis lay the foundation for the development of low-power multi-gas sensors.