Nanoarray of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and carbon nanotubes for accurate and predictive detection in real-world environmental humidity

Abstract

In the present work, we introduce a cross-reactive array of synthetically designed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) bilayers and demonstrate the huge potential of the array in discriminating between polar and nonpolar volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as between the different VOCs from each subgroup. Using appropriate combinations of PAH/SWCNT sensors, we demonstrate that high sensitivity and accuracy values can be obtained for discriminating polar and nonpolar VOCs in samples with variable humidity levels (5-80% RH). The same array of sensors exhibited self-learning capabilities that facilitated exchanging information about environmental properties under observation. The results presented here could lead to the development of a cost-effective, lightweight, low-power, and non-invasive tool for a widespread detection of VOCs in real-world environmental, security, food, health, and other applications.