Patent ID: 8573030
Filing Date: 2013-11-05
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. A method of selecting a nanostructured deposit for a conductometric porous silicon gas sensor, comprising: exposing a gas to a plurality of testing conductometric porous silicon gas sensors, wherein each of the testing conductometric porous silicon gas sensors is operative to transduce the presence of a gas into an impedance change, wherein the impedance change correlates to the gas concentration, wherein the testing conductometric porous silicon gas sensor has a porous silicon layer, wherein one or more of the testing conductometric porous silicon gas sensors has a nanostructured deposit disposed on the porous silicon layer, wherein the nanostructured deposit is selected from the group consisting of: a nanostructured deposit having the characteristic of a hard acid, a nanostructured deposit having the characteristic of an intermediate acid, a nanostructured deposit having the characteristic of a soft acid, a nanostructured deposit having the characteristic of a hard base, a nanostructured deposit having the characteristic of an intermediate base, and a nanostructured deposit having the characteristic of a soft base, measuring an impedance change using each of the testing conductometric porous silicon gas sensors relative to a standard testing conductometric porous silicon gas sensor, and selecting the nanostructured deposit using the concept that the nanostructured deposit and the gas have complementary characteristics based on the interactions of two of the following: a hard acid, an intermediate acid, a soft acid, a hard base, an intermediate base, and a soft base, where such interaction between the gas and the nanostructured deposit determines the measured impedance change, wherein the combination of the nanostructured deposit and the gas generates a range of impedance changes, the greatest impedance change being determined by the maximum hard acid/soft base or hard base/soft acid mismatch between the gas and the nanostructured deposit.