A novel polymer nanofiber interface for chemical sensor applications

Thin films are often employed in sensors in order to improve their performance. It is well known that the sensitivity of a film is proportional to the surface area of the film per unit mass. Thin films made of nanofibers (NF) have surface area approximately one to two orders of the magnitude larger than continuous films, and therefore their sensitivities are potentially as large. In this paper we report preliminary results on the use of nanofiber films as a sensing interface for the Thickness Shear Mode (TSM) piezoelectric sensors. The TSM sensors coated with nanofiber films made of Poly-Lactic Acid-co-Glycolic Acid (PLAGA) polymers were studied under various ambient conditions and the important operating parameters have been determined. Applications of the TSM-NF sensors for gas and liquid detection have been discussed.