A Study On Nanomaterial-based Cataluminescence Sensor Array

Sensor array, which integrates the functions of multiple sensors, is one of the hot topics in the study of sensors. Sensor array has a wide variety of application areas including food and beverages, medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and a host of others. Abundant information can be provided by optical signals for the analyte identification, including luminescence intensity, wavelength, lifetime, etc. Thus, the rapid development for optical sensor arrays has been achieved recently. In the present dissertation, a sensor array of nanomaterial-based cataluminescence was developed. Based on this sensor array, a new way for rapid screening of sensor materials was reported. Furthermore, a new analysis technique was also designed for studying the sensing mechanism, which provides us a novel pathway for the research of sensor array. The main contents of the present dissertation are as follows:1. A new sensor array based on nanomaterial-based cataluminescence was developed for analytes recognitions. By studying the cataluminescence behavior of sulfureted hydrogen, trimethylamine and ethanol on surfaces of nanomaterials, the specificity between cataluminescence signals and nanomaterials was established. The different cataluminescence responses were obtained both for the same analyte on different nanomaterials, and for the different analytes on the same nanomaterial. As a result, the optical information from the oxidation of analytes on the surfaces of nanomaterials can be used for analytes recognitions. Based on this phenomenon, an optical sensor array was developed with an array of different nanomaterials for analytes recognitions.2. A new method for rapid screening of sensor materials was reported. A series of metal catalysts deposited on nanomaterials supports were prepared for studying the correlation between catalytic activities and cataluminescence responses for the CO oxidation. The well correlation between catalytic activities and cataluminescence intensities was established. Then, a cataluminescence-based imaging method was successfully used for the high-throughput screening of sensor materials. 3. A new analysis technique was designed for studying the sensing mechanism. An ambient ionization source for mass spectrometry was designed, which was based on desorption and ionization of analytes from the solid surfaces by the low temperature plasma of dielectric barrier discharge. The direct analysis of amino acids and explosives on the array surface was achieved, which demonstrated that the present method can be used for the real-time and in situ detection of trace analytes on the array surface. This provides us a novel pathway for studying the sensing mechanism.