Gas Sensors

Our group has recently published an article, featured on the cover of advanced functional materials journal, about a simple process for producing network of metal-oxide nanowires (nanoweb). The nanoweb is a monolayer of nanowires covalently attached with each other in a polygonal network fashion whose properties are dominated by the properties of individual nanowires. This thin coating onto a quartz substrate provides an easy way of re-engineering the performance of a gas sensors based on metal oxide thin films while pushing the limits of performance such as sensitivity and selectivity to higher levels. Our group has already demonstrated the process for making Gallium Oxide nanowebs and has recently embarked on creating tin oxide and zinc oxide nanowebs and testing their sensing characteristics with various gases.

Electrochemical Sensors

Our group has recently found out that nanocrystals of graphite (NCG) that do not have carbon onion like structure could have tremendous stability and activity with electrochemical redox reactions involving neurological solutes. The NCG electrodes exhibited reversible behavior with several important amines and catechols and stability that far exceed the reversibility and stability obtained using any other electrode materials available today. Currently, we are fabricating micro-electrodes coated with this material for use in-vivo and in-vitro sensing applications involving neurological fluids.

Carbon nanopipettes (CNP)

1-D form of nanocrystalline graphite, have also exhibited reversible behavior with neuorolgical solutes such as dopamine. The array of CNPs, due to tapered morphology of individual CNPs, offers a unique possibility of easy fabrication into a nano-array electrochemical sensor. We are currently in the stages of demonstration of one such nano-array sensor for fast detection of neurological solutes. In the near future, our group is interested in developing a multiplexed nano-array sensor for simultaneous detection of several electrochemical solutes.