Bacterial cellulose/polyethylene glycol composite aerogel with incorporated graphene and metal oxides for VOCs detection
Wenyuan Wei, Shihao Song, Meng Chen, Renzhi Li, Yangyang Feng, Xiaogang Chen, Jinlin Chang, Bin Fei, Wuqiang Yang, Jiashen Li
Abstract
• A novel composite material designed for monitoring of various volatile organic compounds. • Modification of bacterial cellulose to maintain dimensional stability after drying. • Nanoparticles possess the ability to penetrate and adhere to the 3D fibrous structure. • Synergistic effect between materials enhances sensitivity and detection capabilities. It is important to monitor and detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for environmental protection, occupational safety and human health. Portable and compact VOC sensing devices with a fast response are needed for real-time monitoring and simple analysis. Using solvent exchange and freeze-drying techniques, an ultralight 3D bacterial cellulose (BC) aerogel is prepared and modified by polyethylene glycol with the functionalization of graphene and metal oxides to detect VOC gases. Unlike commercially available flat VOC sensors, the 3D structure of our VOC sensor with high permeability of BC composite provides superior sensing characteristics for acetone, formaldehyde and ethanol in a wider range of scenarios. The portable BC composite sensor exhibits remarkable sensitivity and selectivity toward VOCs detection. The BC composite with TiO 2 has a response time of about 20 s to 1 ppm acetone and can detect as low as 1.43 ppm at room temperature. In addition, BC composites with ZnO are suitable for detecting formaldehyde in indoor air.