Designing Polymer Coated Carbon Nanotube Detectors for Alkane Vapors

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Publication Type honors thesis
School or College College of Engineering
Department Materials Science & Engineering
Faculty Mentor Ling Zang
Creator Ansari, Adam
Title Designing Polymer Coated Carbon Nanotube Detectors for Alkane Vapors
Date 2014
Description Alkane vapors are difficult to be detected in oil pipelines until a leak exceeds 1% of the total flow. Yet, an alkane leak can cause severe security, environmental, and human health problems if it is not identified or addressed. Detecting low concentrations of alkanes will lead to the detection of small leaks in oil pipelines. However, this requires a sensor, which can detect a substance that is inert at room temperature. Polymer coated carbon nanotubes provide that sensor. Polymers, when coating a network of carbon nanotubes, can serve as a tunnel barrier between adjacent carbon nanotubes. In a sensor, adsorption causes this barrier to swell increasing the resistance of the network. This enables the detection of charge transferred inactive species such as alkanes. In this research, design rules were applied to the polymer to make it a suitable host for alkanes by varying the functional end groups of the polymer to enable detection of specific alkanes. The sensors produced were able to detect various vapors at low concentrations with stronger responses to certain vapors and exhibiting almost no response to water.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Language eng
Rights Management (c) Adam Ansari
Format Medium application/pdf
Permissions Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6fc0sbb
ARK ark:/87278/s6c30kwn
Setname ir_htoa
ID 1592924
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6c30kwn
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