Researchers fromTrinity College Dublinand theSFI高级材料和生物工程研究中心(AMBER) have developed a novel set of microscopic gas sensors using 3D printing technology.
3D打印的传感器设计用于模仿孔雀的颜色羽毛，能够在某些溶剂蒸气的情况下更换颜色。因此，它们可用于提供非常视觉的检测危险污染物的方式，同时对制造具有成本效益。
团队认为其设备主要的小鬼lications for real-time gas monitoring in homes, cars, and workplaces, as well as in wearable devices for personal health applications.
该研究的合着者Larisa Florea教授解释说：“我们创建了响应迅速，印刷，微观光学结构，可以实时监测并用于检测气体。打印这种光学响应材料的能力具有将其掺入连接的低成本感应设备中的深远潜力。”
Why do we need to monitor gases?
说普通人如今将大部分时间都花在室内，无论是在家，车上还是在办公室里。根据佛罗里亚的说法，发现室内污染物的浓度可能是室外浓度的5至100倍。当您考虑到World Health Organization表明，全球90％的人口生活在超过可接受的空气标准限制的地区。
就目前而言，现代的室内气体传感器几乎完全集中在泄漏，烟雾或一氧化碳检测上，从而使利基（例如实时挥发性有机化合物（VOC）和氨探测）在很大程度上均不固定。
Placing a greater focus on a comprehensive (but low-cost) environmental monitoring ecosystem can ultimately help make human health a more crucial consideration in home building and manufacturing facilities.
3D printing the color-changing gas sensors
开发气体传感器，团队必须使用自己的内部刺激响应3D打印材料来设计，型号和原型一组微观结构。为了实现这种微小的结构，研究人员利用了两光子聚合的过程，这是一种基于SLA的3D打印的非常精确的形式，其中使用点激光器将树脂用于微观零件。
These printed sensor structures, interestingly, drew inspiration from the feathers of a peacock, which are known to change colors depending on the angle they’re viewed at. This property is called iridescence.
该研究的主要作者科尔姆·德莱尼（Colm Delaney）博士解释说：“ 300多年前，罗伯特·胡克（Robert Hooke）首先调查了孔雀翼上的鲜艳色彩。仅几个世纪后，科学家才发现泡腾的颜色不是由传统色素引起的，而是由光与羽毛上微小物体的相互作用引起的，羽毛的物体大小只有几百万分。”
Delaney’s team eventually managed to get the 3D printed sensors to change colors in response to different solvent vapors. This was done by varying the formulation of the material used as well as the geometry of the structures, since the viewing angle was also a factor in how the sensors reflected light. Despite being smaller than a freckle, they proved useful for revealing the contents and chemistry of the environment they were in. As a bonus, the 3D printed sensors are low-cost, adaptable to different stimuli, require minimal power consumption, and are highly sensitive.
Further details of the study can be found in the paper titled ‘Direct laser writing of vapour-responsive photonic arrays’.
Additive manufacturing’s extensive material compatibility lends itself quite well to sensor device applications. Earlier this year, engineers at华盛顿州立大学(WSU) and DL ADV-Tech used 3D printing to develop a means ofdetecting exposure to the potentially-carcinogenic herbicide glyphosate. Composed of a series of nanotubes coated with 3D printed sensors, the test kit uses similar tech to that found in diabetic glucose monitors, only it deploys currents to assess glyphosate levels instead.
Elsewhere, researchers atSanta Clara Universityrecently used 3D printing to build an upgraded version of thehydration sensing units deployed in agricultural irrigation systems. By redesigning, 3D printing and iterating on parts of these sensors, the engineers have been able to improve their thermal detection capabilities, and shrink their overall size.
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Featured image shows SEM imaging of the microscopic gas sensors. Image via Trinity College Dublin.
