Amphiphilic graft copolymer self-assembly provides an effective method to create mesoporous structures that can act as templates for the synthesis of inorganic materials with controlled morphology. In this project, we are using PVC-g-POEM graft copolymer as a template for mesoporous SnO2 fabrication directly onto a microheater platform for gas sensing applications. The sol-gel solutions are composed of PVC-g-POEM and SnO2 precursor with tunable composition allowing the formation of various structures with controllable pore size, and surface area. The mesoporous SnO2 structure is fabricated from the drop casted polymer solution onto microheater-based sensor, and the removal of the sacrificial polymer template by proper control of the temperature profile. This approach allows us to investigate and optimize the effects of different mesoporous SnO2 structures towards sensing various gaseous species of interest.
Project end date: 07/05/17