Paper and Carbon Nanotubes Combined to Detect Explosive Devices

Targeting the detection of explosives, such as improvised explosive devices (IEDs), researchers at Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed a prototype sensor that uses carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for the sensing element. The wireless component, a resonant lightweight antenna, is printed on paper or paper-like material using standard inkjet technology.  Researchers think the low-cost sensors could be deployed in large numbers to alert authorities to the presence of IEDs and other explosives.

The newest CNT sensor possesses significantly improved sensitivity to minute ammonia concentrations that should enable the first practical applications to detect trace amounts of hazardous gases in challenging operational environments using inkjet-printed devices.

For more information about GTRI’s prototype wireless sensor, click here.

NASA Develops Chemical Sensor for iPhone

Jing Li, a physical scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., along with other researchers working under the Cell-All program in the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, developed a proof of concept of new technology that would bring compact, low-cost, low-power, high-speed nanosensor-based chemical sensing capabilities to cell phones.

The device Li developed is about the size of a postage stamp and is designed to be plugged in to an iPhone to collect, process and transmit sensor data. The new device is able to detect and identify low concentrations of airborne ammonia, chlorine gas and methane. The device senses chemicals in the air using a “sample jet” and a multiple-channel silicon-based sensing chip, which consists of 16 nanosensors, and sends detection data to another phone or a computer via telephone communication network or Wi-Fi.

www.nasa.gov