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Owing to their higher intrinsic electrical conductivity and chemical stability with respect to their oxide counterparts, nanostructured metal sulfides are expected to revive materials for resistive chemical sensor applications. Herein, we explore the gas sensing behavior of WS2 nanowire-nanoflake hybrid materials and demonstrate their excellent sensitivity (0.043 ppm-1) as well as high selectivity towards H2S relative to CO, NH3, H2, and NO (with corresponding sensitivities of 0.002, 0.0074, 0.0002, and 0.0046 ppm-1, respectively). Gas response measurements, complemented with the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis and first-principles calculations based on density functional theory, suggest that the intrinsic electronic properties of pristine WS2 alone are not sufficient to explain the observed high sensitivity towards H2S. A major role in this behavior is also played by O doping in the S sites of the WS2 lattice. The results of the present study open up new avenues for the use of transition metal disulfide nanomaterials as effective alternatives to metal oxides in future applications for industrial process control, security, and health and environmental safety., Funding received from Bio4Energy programme, Academy of Finland (projects Suplacat and ClintoxNP (No. 268944)), University of Oulu (More than Moore research community) and University of Oulu Graduate School (Infotech Oulu) is acknowledged. We acknowledge support from the EU (No. ERC-2016-AdG-694097 QSpec-NewMat) and the Basque Government “Grupos Consolidados UPV/EHU” (No. IT578-13). J. J. B. and L. D. X. thank the EU for the Marie Curie Fellowship (Nos. H2020-MSCA-IF-2016-751047 and H2020-MSCA-IF-2015-709382). A. P. P. thanks postdoctoral fellowship from the Spanish “Juan de la Cierva-incorporación” program (No. IJCI-2014-20147). We also would like to acknowledge Sami Saukko (Center of Microscopy and Nanotechnology, University of Oulu) for his assistance with TEM analyses. A. L. S. acknowledges the Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linköping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU No. 2009-00971).

Rural-dwelling hemodialysis patients have less frequent contact with nephrologists than urban-dwelling patients, and are known to have higher mortality. We hypothesized that rural-dwelling hemodialysis patients would have more evidence of poorly controlled extracellular fluid volume (ECVF) than otherwise similar urban-dwellers.We studied prevalent hemodialysis patients within a single renal program in Alberta, Canada and assessed ECFV using bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS). Our primary outcome was impedance vector length (ohm/m) as assessed by BIS using the Xitron Hydra 4200 device, where shorter vector length indicated poorer ECFV control. Because poor ECFV control can lead to hypertension, we also assessed pre- and post-dialysis blood pressure. We measured outcomes at baseline.We studied 228 hemodialysis patients, of whom 115 (50.4 %) and 113 (49.6 %) were urban- and rural-dwelling, respectively. There were no differences in volume control in urban versus rural participants; odds ratio (OR) for vector length in the lowest sex-specific quartile of vector length was 0.93 (95 % CI 0.54, 1.59) after adjusting for age, sex, diabetic status, years since dialysis initiation and phase angle. The odds of very poor blood pressure control (pre-dialysis blood pressure ≥180/100) did not differ between urban and rural participants [fully adjusted OR 0.96 (0.36, 2.60)].Differences in ECFV control do not appear to explain higher mortality among remote- and rural- dwelling hemodialysis patients, compared to urban-dwellers.

Sensing materials based on doped mesoporous silica of SBA-15 type were obtained by repeated wet impregnation of the solid with semiconductive oxides (Sn and In) and noble metal (Pt). The mesoporous structure of SBA was preserved during the doping and calcination of the solid, although slight pore size narrowing occurred as shown by the BET adsorption analysis. The solid was deposited by the casting technique as a thin layer on a finger structure. The modifications of its electrical resistance values in the presence of hydrogen and propene (50400 ppm), at temperature values of 450 °C was used as sensing parameter, in the presence of propene and hydrogen. The sensitivity to propene was higher than that to hydrogen.

The high-temperature stability of a Pt/TaSi2/Ni/SiC ohmic contact metallization scheme was characterized using a combination of current-voltage measurements, Auger electron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy imaging and associated analytical techniques. Increasing the thicknesses of the Pt and TaSi2 layers promoted electrical stability of the contacts, which remained ohmic at 600A degrees C in air for the extent of heat treatment; the specific contact resistance showed only a gradual increase from an initial value of 5.2 x 10(-5) Omega cm(2). We observed a continuous silicon oxide layer in the thinner contact structures, which failed after 36 h of heating. Meanwhile, thicker contacts with enhanced stability contained a much lower oxygen concentration that was distributed across the contact layers, precluding the formation of an electrically insulating contact structure. The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com:Ariel Virshup, Fang Liu, Dorothy Lukco, Kristina Buchholt, Anita Lloyd Spetz and Lisa M Porter, Improved Thermal Stability Observed in Ni-Based Ohmic Contacts to n-Type SiC for High-Temperature Applications, 2011, JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS, (40), 4, 400-405.http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11664-010-1449-0Copyright: Springer Science Business Mediahttp://www.springerlink.com/

We investigated the thermal stability of Pt/TaSi x /Ni/SiC ohmic contacts, which have been implemented in SiC-based gas sensors developed for applications in diesel engines and power plants. The contacts remained ohmic on lightly doped n-type (~1 × 1016 cm−3) 4H-SiC for over 1000 h in air at 300°C. Although a gradual increase in specific contact resistance from 3.4 × 10−4 Ω cm2 to 2.80 × 10−3 Ω cm2 was observed, the values appeared to stabilize after ~800 h of heating in air at 300°C. The contacts heated at 500°C and 600°C, however, showed larger increases in specific contact resistance followed by nonohmic behavior after 240 h and 36 h, respectively. Concentration profiles from Auger electron spectroscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy show that loss of ohmic behavior occurs when the entire tantalum silicide layer has oxidized.

A series of gas sensing layers based on indium oxide doped with gold were prepared by using the aerosol technology for deposition as the active contact layer in a metal oxide semiconductor capacitive device. The interaction between the measured species and the insulator surface was quantified as the voltage changes at a constant capacitance of the device. The sensor properties were investigated in the presence of H2, CO, NH3, NO, NO2 and C3H6 at temperatures between 100–400 °C. Significant differences in the morphology of the layer and its sensitivity were noted for different preparation methods and different gas environments.

In this project, we have explored RuO2 and Ru nanoparticles (∼ ∼10 and ∼ ∼5 nm, respectively, estimated from XRD data) to be used as gate material in field effect sensor devices. The particles were synthesized by wet chemical procedure. The capacitance versus voltage characteristics of the studied capacitance shifts to a lower voltage while exposed to reducing gases. The main objectives are to improve the selectivity of the FET sensors by tailoring the dimension and surface chemistry of the nanoparticles and to improve the high temperature stability. The sensors were characterized using capacitance versus voltage measurements, at different frequencies, 500 Hz to 1 MHz, and temperatures at 100–400°C. The sensor response patterns have been found to depend on operating temperature. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses were performed to investigate the oxidation state due to gas exposure. Quantum-chemical computations suggest that heterolytic dissociative adsorption is favored and preliminary computations regarding water formation from adsorbed hydrogen and oxygen was also performed.

A resistance sensor for use in diesel exhaust is reported. Several soot deposition mechanisms contribute to collection on the sensing electrodes. The sensor is designed to enhance the temperature difference between the electrode surface and the ambient. The resulting thermophoretic force on nanoparticles enhances soot deposition. Exhaust soot concentrations were shown to correlate with resistance decreases and the effect of thermophoresis was studied.

THERE is much interest in the use of chemical sensor arrays, in conjunction with pattern-recognition routines, for developing artificial olfactory devices—'electronic noses'—which can characterize the chemical composition of gas mixtures1–5. Here we describe a technique that uses a continuous sensing surface and a detection method involving a scanning pulsed light source, to generate images that represent a fingerprint of the gases detected. The detector is a large-area field-effect device with a number of different catalytic metals constituting the detecting surface (the device's active gate) 6,7. A pulsed light beam scanned across this surface generates a photocapacitive current that varies with the value of the surface potential8,9. A continuous sensing surface of this type provides information that would require an array of hundreds of discrete sensors. The technique also provides a new means of studying the coupling between the electronic properties of catalytic metals and chemical reactions taking place on their surfaces.

Silicon carbide-based resistive gas sensors from our laboratory have been previously reported to detect hydrogen at concentrations ranging from less than 1% to 100% H2 in Ar and at temperatures ranging from 50°C to 450°C. The gas sensing mechanism for these devices was not well understood, hindering further improvement in this technology. In this report, resistive devices built on a thin 3C-SiC epitaxial layer grown on 150Å thick Si layer wafer bonded to a polycrystalline SiC substrate were studied. The polycrystalline SiC substrate is insulating, allowing the formation of isolated epitaxy resistors on the 3C-SiC layer. The gas sensing devices consisted of rectangular ohmic NiCr contacts with a Au overlayer fabricated on the 3C-SiC surface. Under a constant dc bias, nominally 10V in this study, these sensors demonstrated a decrease in current of up to ~25.4 mA upon the introduction of 100% H2, relative to 100% N2 in the test gas stream. The time constant for this device, estimated as a first-order exponential decay, was ~16-22 sec, with the full response occurring after ~90-120 sec. Upon the introduction of 100% H2 to the sensing environment, the device temperature, as measured by an resistance temperature detector (RTD) in intimate thermal contact with the device, decreased from 400°C to 237°C (ΔT = ~163°C). This large decrease in device temperature was driven by increased heat transfer coefficient of H2 relative to N2. The sensitivity to CH4 in N2, CO2 in N2 and He in Ar was also tested. Sensitivities, defined as the smallest change in concentration, as low as 300 ppm H2 in N2 were achieved with devices operating at 400°C and 10 V dc. Details of the device performance and a model of the sensing mechanism will be discussed.