Wireless Sensor Network Based on a Chemocapacitive Sensor Array for the Real-time Monitoring of Industrial Pollutants

The realization and characterization under laboratory conditions of a wireless sensor network for the monitoring of specific Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) is presented towards its potential application at industrial installations. The sensing unit is an array of InterDigitated Chemocapacitors (IDCs) coated with semi-selective polymers as sensing layers. The capacitance changes are recorded with a miniaturized read-out electronics module and are transmitted via a wireless network. The recorded responses demonstrate that the system can be potentially applied to remote real-time unattended industrial environment monitoring.