ACS & SPE – ACESS Joint Societies Meeting
Dr. Torsten Hegmann, Ohio Research Scholar Professor
Director, Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University
Zero-power, optical toxic gas and vapor sensors utilizing printed nematic liquid crystal patterns
Location: Missing Falls Brewery, Event Room
For a virtual option, contact education.outreach@akronacs.org
Tuesday, January 27
5:45 PM Networking
6:30 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Lecture (open to the public)
Dinner cost: $20 for members and the public, $10 for retired/unemployed, $5 for students. To pay online, use the ticket links below (preferred). To pay at the door, RSVP at the link below.
Abstract: Health risks affiliated with the exposure to a wide variety of toxic gases and vapors is a certainty for first responders such as firefighters and HAZMAT team members but also for military personnel in conflict zones, countless other professions from water purification and chemical manufacturing to the oil and gas industry, among others, and even the general public. To address this, we have developed several prototypes for a novel toxic gas sensor platform based on inkjet-printed nematic liquid crystal patterns. These sensors require zero power to operate and are characterized by high sensitivity down to highly relevant ppm and ppb levels, fast response times on the order of seconds, improved durability, and an overall design that is highly customizable by the potential end user. The response times of these sensors exponentially decrease with toxic gas concentration, thereby establishing the toxic gas diffusivity dependence of their mode of action. We demonstrated such prototypes for a range of toxic gases including chlorine, phosgene, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen sulfide, aliphatic amines, and others, performing interference testing in high humidity and smoke conditions as well as field testing with active firefighters.
Bio: Dr. Hegmann obtained his Ph.D. from the Martin Luther University, in Halle (Germany) in 2001. He then pursued postdoctoral research supported by a DAAD-NATO scholarship at Queen’s University, in Kingston (ON, Canada) from 2001 to 2003. Thereafter, he started his independent academic career in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Manitoba in 2003, where he was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2008, leaving for Kent State in 2011. Since July 2019, Dr. Torsten Hegmann serves as the Director of the Advanced Materials & Liquid Crystal Institute (AMLCI) at Kent State University. He is an Ohio Research Scholar in Science & Technology of Advanced Nanomaterials at Kent State since 2011. He is a member and Full Professor of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, the Materials Science Graduate Program, and the Brain Health Research Institute. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) since 2016, his work has garnered additional national and international awards such as the LG Mid-Career Award from the International Liquid Crystal Society or the Merck Displaying Future Award, among others. Dr. Hegmann’s research focuses on combinations and applications of liquid crystals and nanomaterials, exploring their role in programmed nanomaterial assembly, electro-optical applications, chirality amplification, and sensing as well as the design of nanomaterials for biomedical applications.