Because ammonia and its reaction products can cause considerable damage to human health and ecosystems, there is a need for reliably operating and reversibly interacting sensor materials to monitor traces of gaseous ammonia in ambient air, which at best can be used on-site for in-the-field measurements. Herein, the development of a sensor material for gaseous ammonia in the lower ppm to ppb range using optical fluorescence as transduction mechanism is presented. A fluorescent dye, which shows reversible fluorescence enhancement in the presence of ammonia is incorporated into a polymer matrix, the latter to ensure the accumulation of ammonia. The sensor material is integrated into a prototype of a miniaturized sensor device, facilitating long-term operation. To calibrate the optical sensor system a gas standard generator, producing standard gas mixtures, is used, leading to a sensitivity down to lower ppm concentrations of ammonia.
In preliminary work, gas sensors in linear form based on the measuring principle of gas selective permeability through a membrane were developed and introduced for the detection and quantification of gas concentrations. In this study, first experimental results are presented for adapting the technology for measuring methane (CH4). A material with suitable selective permeability was identified and utilized in a sensor setup containing the gas selective membrane and a reference membrane, both integrated in a measuring cell, to which a gas stream with defined CH4 concentrations was applied. The results prove the sensor's capability for measuring methane and indicate further application potential of the method, e.g., as a robust field monitoring technology, since CH4 is the major component of natural gas, town gas, and fracking gas.