Materials, methods and devices to detect and quantify water vapor concentrations in an atmosphere

Patent Number:	8,904,850
Issued:	12/9/2014
Official Filing:	View the Complete Patent
Abstract:	We have demonstrated that a surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor coated with a nanoporous framework material (NFM) film can perform ultrasensitive water vapor detection at concentrations in air from 0.05 to 12,000 ppmv at 1 atmosphere pressure. The method is extendable to other MEMS-based sensors, such as microcantilevers, or to quartz crystal microbalance sensors. We identify a specific NFM that provides high sensitivity and selectivity to water vapor. However, our approach is generalizable to detection of other species using NFM to provide sensitivity and selectivity.
Filed:	10/5/2011
Application Number:	13/253,274
Government Interests:	STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-NA0003525 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention.