Layered Double Hydroxides used as room temperature gas sensors for the detection of Volatile Organic Compounds.

This thesis work aims at studying gas sensors based on Layered Double Hydroxides (LDHs), with a focus on the design, testing and optimization of the sensors employed for the detection of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) at room temperature. The LDHs considered show four different compositions, ZnAl-Cl, ZnFe-Cl, ZnAl-NO3, MgAl-NO3, and are tested to varying concentrations of Acetone, Ethanol, Ammonium Hydroxide and Sodium Hypochlorite diluted in dry air. The sensing mechanism involves a variation of the electrical resistance of the sensing material as it is exposed to the analyte to detect.