Dimethyl Methylphosphonate Detection Using a Quartz Crystal Microbalance as Chemical Warfare Sensor

Taking polyvinylidene fluoride as a sensing material we developed a quartz crystal microbalance-based nerve simulant sensor which was simply fabricated by the deposition of polyvinylidene fluoride layer on the top of gold electrode in a quartz crystal microbalance. In this study, dimethyl methylphosphonate was used as a nerve simulant. The frequency shifts versus concentrations of dimethyl methylphosphonate molecules exhibit a good linear correlation. The rate of absorption and desorption of DMMP molecules are quite similar throughout all the concentration level of dimethyl methylphosphonate, indicating constant detection and specification efficiency. As a result, polyvinylidene fluoride is a promising material for sensing nerve simulants with high selectivity and sensitivity. Furthermore, it has a highly potential for further development of detectors covering wide range of chemical warfare agents due to its high thermal and mechanical stability.