Exclusive Sensing of Biotoxic Aromatic Compounds Through Metastable Catalytic Material-Based Device

Chronic exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) presents a significant occupational hazard.¹ Specifically, benzene is a VOC with strict exposure limits by the World Health Organization due to its elevated biotoxicity.² Detecting benzene at the required parts-per-billion (ppb) levels is challenging due to the presence of chemically similar, more concentrated confounders (e.g., toluene and xylene). Here, we present a detector capable of measuring benzene down to 100 ppb with high selectivity over toluene and xylene. It is based on metastable CoCu₂O₃ nanocrystals³ captured by combustion-aerosol technology, as confirmed by x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. When combined with a chemoresistive sensor, CoCu₂O₃ can filter various VOCs while benzene remains unscathed and can be accurately quantified, as confirmed by catalytic conversion measurements and mass spectrometry. Other commonly applied solvents (e.g., acetone and IPA) were removed at concentrations three orders of magnitude higher than benzene. The resulting detector works even under challenging, realistic conditions, as will be demonstrated in my presentation.

1 Dick, F. D. Solvent neurotoxicity. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 63, 221-226 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.2005.022400
2 Yardley-Jones, A., Anderson, D. & Parke, D. V. The toxicity of benzene and its metabolism and molecular pathology in human risk assessment. British Journal of Industrial Medicine 48, 437-444 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.48.7.437
3 D'Andria, M., Elias Abi-Ramia Silva, T., Consogno, E., Krumeich, F. & Guentner, A. T. Metastable CoCu2O3 for molecular sensing and catalysis. arXiv:2406.10588 (2024). <https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024arXiv240610588D>.