Abstract

Supramolecules are considered as promising materials for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sensing applications. The proper understanding of the sorption process taking place in host-guest interactions is critical in improving the pattern recognition of supramolecules-based sensing arrays. Here, we report a novel approach to investigate the dynamic host-guest recognition process by employing a bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonator capable of producing multiple oscillation amplitudes and simultaneously recording multiple responses to VOCs. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) were modified on four BAW sensors to demonstrate the gas-surface interactions regarding oscillation amplitude and SAM length. Based on the method, a virtual sensor array (VSA) type electronic nose (e-nose) can be realized by pattern recognition of multiple responses at different oscillation amplitudes of a single sensor. VOCs analysis was realized respectively by using principal component analysis (PCA) for individual VOC identification and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) for VOCs mixtures classification.