Near Field Electrospinning of Nanofibers for Multi-Modal Hydrogen Sensing

Wong, Danny

Near Field Electrospinning of Nanofibers for Multi-Modal Hydrogen Sensing

dc.contributor.advisor	Park, Simon S.
dc.contributor.author	Wong, Danny
dc.contributor.committeemember	Lu, Qingye
dc.contributor.committeemember	Ghasemloonia, Ahmad
dc.contributor.committeemember	Enns, Silvanus T.
dc.date	2018-11
dc.date.accessioned	2018-09-14T18:10:06Z
dc.date.available	2018-09-14T18:10:06Z
dc.date.issued	2018-09-06
dc.description.abstract	Hydrogen gas is a common byproduct in industrial processes. It is also frequently used in practical applications such as fuel cell vehicles. It has no smell and no taste, but it may pose immediate safety risks because it is combustible in air. It is also un wanted in manufacturing processes as it causes hydrogen-assisted cracking. Sensitive and selective gas sensors are critical to rapidly detect and minimize potential hazards. In this study, we propose a multi-modal hydrogen sensor that combines electrochemical and resonance-based sensing approaches using both quartz tuning forks (QTF) and quartz crystal microbalances (QCM). Near-field electrospinning is used to deposit uniform, semi-conductive nanofibers connecting the two prongs of a QTF. Electrospinning parameters are also optimized on QCM to maximize sensing performance. The most important parameters include polymer concentration, additive concentration and tip-to-collector distance. Treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), platinum nanoparticles and polyaniline (PANI) are used as the sensing materials with polyethylene oxide (PEO) being used as an electrospinning guide. The effects of intensive pulsed light (IPL) for welding the nanofibers to the platinum coated surfaces are also investigated. The attached sensing materials caused the resonance frequency to shift due to increased stiffness but provided increased surface area for selective adsorption and allowed for electrical impedance changes to be measured. The resonance frequency and electrical impedance both decrease when exposed to hydrogen gas. The sensing methods are combined to develop sensitive gas sensors that are selective to hydrogen compared to a multitude of other gases. Models are developed to back calculate the hydrogen concentration based on the sensor response. The development of these sensors lead to new methods for compact multi-modal sensing.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Wong, D. (2018). Near Field Electrospinning of Nanofibers for Multi-Modal Hydrogen Sensing (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/32907	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/32907
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/107731
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.faculty	Schulich School of Engineering
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.publisher.place	Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	hydrogen sensing
dc.subject	near field electrospinning
dc.subject	nanofibers
dc.subject	quartz tuning fork
dc.subject	quartz crystal microbalance
dc.subject	ANOVA
dc.subject.classification	Chemistry--Polymer	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Engineering--Chemical	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Materials Science	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Engineering--Mechanical	en_US
dc.title	Near Field Electrospinning of Nanofibers for Multi-Modal Hydrogen Sensing
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true