Layer-by-Layer Deposited Multi-Modal PDAC/rGO Composite-Based Sensors

Ammar Al-Hamry; Tianqi Lu; Jing Bai; Anurag Adiraju; Tharun K Ega; Igor A Pašti; Olfa Kanoun

doi:10.3390/foods12020268

Layer-by-Layer Deposited Multi-Modal PDAC/rGO Composite-Based Sensors

Foods. 2023 Jan 6;12(2):268. doi: 10.3390/foods12020268.

Authors

Ammar Al-Hamry¹, Tianqi Lu¹, Jing Bai¹, Anurag Adiraju¹, Tharun K Ega¹, Igor A Pašti², Olfa Kanoun¹

Affiliations

¹ Measurement and Sensor Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Chemnitz University of Technology, 09107 Chemnitz, Germany.
² University of Belgrade-Faculty of Physical Chemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, 11158 Belgrade, Serbia.

Abstract

Different environmental parameters, such as temperature and humidity, aggravate food spoilage, and different volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are released based on the extent of spoilage. In addition, a lack of efficient monitoring of the dosage of pesticides leads to crop failure. This could lead to the loss of food resources and food production with harmful contaminants and a short lifetime. For this reason, precise monitoring of different environmental parameters and contaminations during food processing and storage is a key factor for maintaining its safety and nutritional value. Thus, developing reliable, efficient, cost-effective sensor devices for these purposes is of utmost importance. This paper shows that Poly-(diallyl-dimethyl ammonium chloride)/reduced Graphene oxide (PDAC/rGO) films produced by a simple Layer-by-Layer deposition can be effectively used to monitor temperature, relative humidity, and the presence of volatile organic compounds as indicators for spoilage odors. At the same time, they show potential for electrochemical detection of organophosphate pesticide dimethoate. By monitoring the resistance/impedance changes during temperature and relative humidity variations or upon the exposure of PDAC/rGO films to methanol, good linear responses were obtained in the temperature range of 10-100 °C, 15-95% relative humidity, and 35 ppm-55 ppm of methanol. Moreover, linearity in the electrochemical detection of dimethoate is shown for the concentrations in the order of 10² µmol dm^-3. The analytical response to different external stimuli and analytes depends on the number of layers deposited, affecting sensors' sensitivity, response and recovery time, and long-term stability. The presented results could serve as a starting point for developing advanced multi-modal sensors and sensor arrays with high potential for analytical applications in food safety and quality monitoring.

Keywords: electrochemical senor; layer-by-layer deposition; multi-modal sensor; poly(diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride); reduced graphene oxide; relative humidity sensor; temperature sensor; volatile organic compounds.

Abstract

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