Subventions et des contributions :

Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier (2017-2018 à 2018-2019).

Quality of indoor air is strongly affected by volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which pose a serious healthx000D
risk even at very low concentrations (usually at part-per-billion, ppb, range). Solid-state chemical sensors thatx000D
are typically made of highly engineered inexpensive materials are quite sensitive to VOCs and are easy tox000D
fabricate. However, the biggest challenges are selectivity to a particular target gas or cross-sensitivity.x000D
In collaboration with our industry partner, Alphatron technology, we plan to develop a novel nanotechnologyx000D
based intelligent sensor systems for selective and sensitive monitoring of particular VOCs forx000D
demand-controlled ventilation in indoor environments. This will be achieved by employing novelx000D
nanomaterials in well-defined structures, activated by thermal and radiation energy as well as operating sensorx000D
systems in optimized conditions for enhanced performance.x000D
Two different classes of semiconductor gas-sensing material will be studied: 1) The material developed byx000D
Alphatron technology, activated by thermal energy, and 2) The new sensing materials synthesized by UBCx000D
research team activated by UV radiation emitted from LEDs.x000D
Sensor systems developed in this research combined with a comprehensive user interface for indoor air qualityx000D
is expected to find a considerable market in North America and beyond, especially if the systems are intuitivex000D
and available at low cost.