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Nanodiamond/Ti3C2 MXene-coated quartz crystal microbalance humidity sensor with high sensitivity and high quality factor

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Abstract

To address the challenge of achieving both high sensitivity and a high quality factor in quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) humidity sensors, a nanodiamond (ND)/Ti3C2 MXene composite-coated QCM humidity sensor was fabricated. The material characteristics of ND, Ti3C2 MXene, and ND/Ti3C2 MXene composite were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The experimental results demonstrated that the hydrophilic ND nanoparticles coated on Ti3C2 MXene nanosheet prevented the self-stacking of Ti3C2 MXene and enhanced the sensitivity of Ti3C2 MXene-based QCM humidity sensor. Moreover, the high mechanical modulus of Ti3C2 MXene material helped ND/Ti3C2 MXene composite-coated QCM humidity sensor to achieve a high quality factor (> 20,000). ND/Ti3C2 MXene composite-coated QCM humidity sensor exhibited a sensitivity of 82.45 Hz/%RH, a humidity hysteresis of 1.1%RH, fast response/recovery times, acceptable repeatability, and good stability from 11.3%RH to 97.3%RH. The response mechanism of ND/Ti3C2 MXene composite-coated QCM humidity sensor was analyzed in combination with a bi-exponential kinetic adsorption model. Finally, the potential application of ND/Ti3C2 MXene composite-coated QCM humidity sensor was demonstrated through its frequency response to wooden blocks with different moisture contents.

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摘要

为了应对石英晶体微天平（QCM）湿度传感器在高灵敏度和高品质因素之间的挑战，制备了一种纳米金刚石（ND）/二维Ti3C2 MXene复合材料涂层的QCM湿度传感器。利用透射电子显微镜和傅里叶红外光谱表征了ND，Ti3C2 MXene和ND/Ti3C2 MXene复合材料的材料特性。实验结果表明亲水性的ND纳米颗粒涂层能阻止Ti3C2 MXene的自堆积，提高了Ti3C2 MXene基QCM湿度传感器的灵敏度。此外，Ti3C2 MXene材料的高机械模量帮助ND/Ti3C2 MXene复合涂层的QCM湿度传感器实现了高品质因素（>20,000）。ND/Ti3C2 MXene复合材料涂层的QCM湿度传感器在11.3至97.3 %RH的湿度范围内的灵敏度高达82.45 Hz/%RH，湿度滞后仅为1.1 %RH，还具有快速的响应/恢复时间，可接受的重复性，以及良好稳定性。此外，本文结合双峰指数动力学吸附模型分析了ND/Ti3C2 MXene复合材料涂层的QCM湿度传感器的响应机制。最后，通过其对具有不同含水率的木块的频率响应展示了ND/Ti3C2 MXene复合材料涂层的QCM湿度传感器的潜在应用。

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Project funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61401047), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2018M633349), the Oversea Students Funding Project of the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Sichuan and the Scientific Research Foundation of CUIT (No. KYQN202210).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Communication Engineering, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu, 610225, China

    Yao Yao, Wei-Wei Ling & Chang-Ming Chen

  2. School of Automation, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, 400065, China

    Qiao Chen

  3. School of Automation Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China

    Qiao Chen, Yan-Qi Li & Xian-He Huang

  4. Advanced Micro-/Nano-Devices Lab, Department of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Zhe-Miao Xie & Jia-Qi Wang

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Yao, Y., Chen, Q., Li, YQ. et al. Nanodiamond/Ti3C2 MXene-coated quartz crystal microbalance humidity sensor with high sensitivity and high quality factor. Rare Met. 43, 2719–2729 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-023-02564-x

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