Material Synthesis Toward Design Rules for Capture and Sensing of Toxic Chemicals

The objective of this effort is to develop specialized dielectric materials targeting toxic chemicals of interest, including explosives and chemical warfare agents, and to integrate them into circuits for use as low power, robust point detectors. Our task at Northwestern University is to synthesize and provide metal-organic frameworks to Gregory W. Peterson team at (ECBC) for incorporation into hierarchical structures such as conductive nanofibers and either spun or encompassed in electrical circuits. ECBC will use resistance and phase shifts of these dielectrics when exposed to toxic chemicals, a fingerprint can be identified at a variety of frequencies using Fourier Transform techniques, thus providing a highly selective and sensitive sensor.