Chemical sensors comprising aniline polysiloxanes as sensitive materials and use thereof for detecting of assaying nitro compounds

• US 7,968,343 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2005
• Issued: 06/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (AES Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (AES Corporation)
• Inventors: Pasquinet, Eric, Poullain, Didier, Hairault, Lionel
• Primary Examiner(s): Gakh; Yelena G
• Assistant Examiner(s): WEISZ, DAVID G
• Application Number:
  US11/576,836
• Publication Number:
  US 20080070316A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,094 Days
• Field of Search: 524730-731, 422/82.01, 422/82.02, 422/98, 422/68.1, 422/102
• US Class Current: 436/72
• CPC Class Codes: C08G 77/045 containing less than 25 silicon atoms
• CPC Class Codes: C08G 77/26 nitrogen-containing groups
• CPC Class Codes: C08G 77/388 containing nitrogen
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0257 with a layer containing at least one organic compound
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/126 comprising organic polymers
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/036 by measuring frequency or resonance of acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0057 for warfare agents or explosives properties of explosives G01N33/227
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/17 Nitrogen containing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/170769 N-Nitroso containing [e.g., nitrosamine, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/173076 Nitrite or nitrate
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/173845 Amine and quaternary ammonium

Abstract

A chemical sensor including a substrate having at least two faces, at least one of the faces being covered by a thin film that includes a sensitive material, and a means for measuring a change in a physical property of the sensitive material; and, methods of detecting the presence of a nitro compound with the chemical sensor.

Claims

1. A method of detecting the presence of a nitro compound in a medium, the method comprising:

contacting a medium comprising a nitro compound with a chemical sensor, measuring a change in a response of the chemical sensor, and

correlating the change of response to the presence of the nitro compound in the medium;

wherein the chemical sensor provides a first response when a medium does not comprise a nitro compound,

wherein the chemical sensor provides a second response when a medium comprises a nitro compound,

wherein the second response is different from the first response, and

where the second response comprises a modification of a physical property of the sensitive material of the chemical sensor when the sensitive material contacts the nitro compound;

wherein said chemical sensor comprises;

a substrate comprising two faces;

wherein at least one of the substrate faces is covered by a thin film;

wherein the thin film comprises a sensitive material including at least one polymer comprising a siloxane repeating unit which corresponds to formula (I) below;

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor the siloxane repeating unit corresponds to formula (I) in which R₁ represents a group of formula (IIa), (IIb) or (IIc) below:

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor the siloxane repeating unit corresponds to formula (I) in which X represents an alkylene group comprising from 1 to 10 carbon atoms, Y represents an alkylene group containing from 1 to 3 carbon atoms, while R₂ represents a hydrogen atom.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor the siloxane repeating unit corresponds to formula (I) in which X represents a propylene group, Y represents a methylene group, while R₂ represents a hydrogen atom.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor the siloxane repeating unit corresponds to one of formulae (Ia), (Ib) and (Ic) below:

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor the polymer is a homopolymer.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor the polymer is a copolymer which comprises two different siloxane repeating units, a first unit corresponding to formula (I), and a second unit corresponding to formula (III) below:

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor the second siloxane unit is a dihydrosiloxane unit, a methylhydro-siloxane unit or a dimethylsiloxane unit.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor the polymer is a homopolymer consisting of the siloxane repeating unit of formula (Ia) below:

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor the polymer is a copolymer which comprises a first siloxane unit corresponding to formula (Ia) below:

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor the polymer is a copolymer which comprises a first siloxane unit corresponding to formula (Ib) below:

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor the polymer is a copolymer which comprises a first siloxane unit corresponding to formula (Ic) below:

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor the copolymer is a random, alternating or block copolymer.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor the first repeating unit represents, by number, approximately 47% of the repeating units forming the copolymer, while the second repeating unit represents, by number, approximately 53% of the units forming the copolymer.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor both substrate faces are each covered by a thin film, and wherein each thin film comprises the sensitive material comprising the at least one polymer.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor the thin film is 10 angstroms to 100 microns thick.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein said chemical sensor is a gravimetric sensor.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein said chemical sensor is a quartz microbalance sensor.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said chemical sensor is a component of a multisensor comprising one or more individual sensors assembled together.

20. The method of claim 1, in which the nitro is selected from a nitroaromatic compound, a nitramine, a nitrosamine, a nitric ester, and combinations thereof.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the nitro compound is in gaseous form.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the nitro compound is selected from nitrobenzene, dinitrobenzene, trinitrobenzene, nitrotoluene, dinitrotoluene, trinitrotoluene, dinitrofluorobenzene, dinitrotrifluoromethoxybenzene, aminodinitrotoluene, dinitrotrifluoromethylbenzene, chlorodinitrotrifluoromethylbenzene, hexanitrostilbene, trinitrophenol, cyclotetramethylenetetranitramine, cyclotrimethylene-trinitramine, trinitrophenylmethylnitramine, nitrosodimethylamine, pentrite, ethylene glycol dinitrate, diethylene glycol dinitrate, nitroglycerine, nitroguanidine, and combinations thereof.

23. The method of claim 1, for detecting explosives.