Open AccessHandheld Device for Selective Benzene Sensing over Toluene and Xylene
Author(s) -
Weber Ines C.,
Rüedi Pascal,
Šot Petr,
Güntner Andreas T.,
Pratsinis Sotiris E.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.202103853
Subject(s) - benzene , toluene , gasoline , xylene , btex , detection limit , environmental chemistry , chemistry , materials science , environmental science , computer science , organic chemistry , chromatography
More than 1 million workers are exposed routinely to carcinogenic benzene, contained in various consumer products (e.g., gasoline, rubbers, and dyes) and released from combustion of organics (e.g., tobacco). Despite strict limits (e.g., 50 parts per billion (ppb) in the European Union), routine monitoring of benzene is rarely done since low‐cost sensors lack accuracy. This work presents a compact, battery‐driven device that detects benzene in gas mixtures with unprecedented selectivity (>200) over inorganics, ketones, aldehydes, alcohols, and even challenging toluene and xylene. This can be attributed to strong Lewis acid sites on a packed bed of catalytic WO 3 nanoparticles that prescreen a chemoresistive Pd/SnO 2 sensor. That way, benzene is detected down to 13 ppb with superior robustness to relative humidity (RH, 10–80%), fulfilling the strictest legal limits. As proof of concept, benzene is quantified in indoor air in good agreement ( R 2 ≥ 0.94) with mass spectrometry. This device is readily applicable for personal exposure assessment and can assist the implementation of low‐emission zones for sustainable environments.