Abstract
Particulate matter is ubiquitous in the environment, however industrial processes have increased the amount released into the air. Here, the authors demonstrate the initial development of a novel sensor capable of detecting airborne particulate matter in real time. Interdigitated microelectrodes (IDT) were printed on a silicon wafer substrate and exposed to Arizona Road Dust in a wind tunnel for periods of 2, 5, and 10 minutes with an air sample mass loading of 9.07mg/m3 at a velocity of 1.7m/s. Impedance measurements were taken every 30 seconds during exposure. The average loading efficiency was calculated to be 31%. Impedance measurements were recorded from the IDT samples showing that the impedance decreased in real time over the 10 minute exposure. The observed capturing coefficient was possibly due to surface-particle interaction phenomena, such as particle bounce, impaction and re-entrainment. IDTs have previously been used to detect nanoparticles within aqueous environments however this is the first report of such electrodes being used to successfully detect airborne particles.