Low‐Profile Planar Antenna Sensor Based on Ti₃C₂T_x MXene Membrane for VOC and Humidity Monitoring

Abstract

Detection of volatile organic compounds (VOC)s is of great interest in industrial and environmental applications due to the severe impact of VOCs on human health and the environment, including climate change and ozone layer depletion. This study investigates the implementation of a Ti3C2Tx MXene as radiating and sensing element to develop a VOC and humidity sensing antenna. The performance of the sensor is validated by introducing various VOCs, including acetone, ethanol, IPA, and methanol, in an isolated custom‐made chamber while the antenna sensor is communicating with a distanced receiver antenna. Measured results confirm that the exposure of the MXene antenna sensor to VOCs causes an upshift in the operating frequency of the antenna sensor. The study successfully demonstrates the potential of the proposed Ti3C2Tx MXene antenna sensor in detecting acetone concentrations ranging from 8 to 80 parts per thousand (ppt). In addition, the sensor detects different humidity concentrations ranging between 77.8 ± 2% to 94 ± 1%, where for 94 ± 1% of humidity, a 213.1 MHz of frequency shift is observed. As a proof of concept, the developed MXene antenna sensor shows a promising potential for wireless gas and humidity sensing applications in the environmental and industrial sectors.

Design of slot radiating RF planar sensor for homogeneity check of dielectric discontinuity

“…The proposed structure in this work is mainly focused on the characterization of solid samples for uniformity check. However, with some modifications, it can also be implemented for liquid 23,24 or gas 25,26 sensing applications. For liquid sensing, some special arrangement is to be made for the sample placement at an appropriate sensing region.…”

2D Titanium carbide printed flexible ultrawideband monopole antenna for wireless communications

“…The key materials are expected to be flexible with high electrical conductivity and tolerable mechanical deformation 4 . In comparison with conventionally used metals 5 , carbon-based nanomaterials 6 , and polymers 7 , two-dimensional titanium carbide (Ti 3 C 2 ) is becoming nominated star materials for RF antennas due to its intrinsic high electrical conductivity (10,000~20,000 S cm −1 ), good skin depth (2.4 GHz, 10 μm), excellent mechanical strength and easy processibility 8 – 11 . For example, in 2016, Gogotsi et al first explored the potential applications of Ti 3 C 2 nanomaterials in the flexible dipole antennas in the WiFi frequency band (2.4 GHz) 8 .…”

MXene Free Standing Films: Unlocking the Impact of Flake Sizes in Microwave Resonant Structures in Humid Environments

“…[64,65] In a recent study, MXene membrane-based antennas have also been used to detect VOCs, for example, acetone, Isopropyl alcohol (IPA), ethanol, and methanol, in the parts per thousand range. [66] Despite the few implementations of MXene-based microwave structures, no prior study has investigated the performance of the MXene film microwave resonators with different flake sizes and studied the effect of flake size for operation in cyclic humidity. This work presents a comprehensive investigation on the incorporation of MXene films as microwave resonators, both in active and passive implementation, and evaluates resonant performance in cyclic relative humidity conditions.…”