Compact, versatile and cost-effective colorimetric gas sensors

Christian Driau, Cristian Fàbrega, Ismael Benito-Altamirano, Peter Pfeiffer, Olga Casals, Joan Daniel Prades

Abstract: We report on an inexpensive and very selective gas sensor implemented by simply combining colorimetric indicators casted on top of Scotch tape, with a commercial microchip adapted here to measure optical reflectance. This sensor can be easily reproduced (leading to quantitatively consistent results), refreshed and reconfigured to sense different target gases (CO2, NH3) just replacing the colorimetric tape.