Microporous organo-silicates: functional hybrid materials for room-temperature gas sensing

The purpose of this work was to satisfy both materials and technological sciences, on the one hand implementing innovative hybrid materials referred to as ECS (Eni Carbon Silicate) in gas sensors manufacturing, and on the other hand verifying their possible operation at room temperature as a technological progress. The ECS phases were employed as functional materials for the production of films to implement in gas sensing devices. For this research activity the basis of screen printing technology was combined with drop coating technique. In order to create a continuous and homogeneous films, a deep investigation on ECS powders filmability was carried out considering the interaction with different solvents, the possible effect of treatments, e.g. sonication and magnetic stirring, and the interaction with components used for screen-printable pastes. Room-temperature gas measurements were performed to study their possible sensing and electron transport properties. ECS-14 based-sensor showed outstanding performance in humidity conditions and a complete calibration vs. moisture concentration was obtained. ECS-4 and ECS-13 films showed an electrical activity with a low response to benzene and acetaldehyde, respectively.