A room temperature 9CB-based chemical sensor

The gas sensing potential of the 9CB (4-cyano-4 '-nonylbiphenyl) liquid crystal compound at ambient conditions is investigated. The solid at room temperature 9CB is incorporated in a hybrid gel formulation of ionic liquid/liquid crystal droplets immobilized in a gelatin matrix. Several ionic liquids are tested in order to tackle the crystallization of 9CB and also a 9CB-based mixture with a different smectogen is considered. The resulting formulation demonstrates great analyte responding capabilities and can be considered an alternative format for artificial olfaction purposes.