Detection of Trace Formaldehyde Gas Based on Quartz Crystal Microbalance Sensor in Living Environment

Using four types of calixarene derivatives (RCT, PCT, MRCT, TBCA) as coating materials, quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensors have been examined for detection of toxic formaldehyde gas indoors. The results showed that PCT was the most efficient adsorption coating material for host-guest recognition of formaldehyde molecule, when the coating mass was 43.93 mu g. The PCT based QCM sensor possessed a linear response range of 109 similar to 2721 ppm formaldehyde gas. In comparison with gas chromatography method, the QCM sensor had a recovery of 97.98 similar to 104.59% with a good reversibility, stability and reproducibility, showing that the PCT based QCM sensor can be well used for the determination of trace formaldehyde in the living environment.