Nano-Coated Quartz Sensors for Sensitive Moisture Profiling of Porous Media

In this study, a nano-coated Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensor was used for moisture profiling in macro-porous media (i.e., soils). Off-the-shelf QCM was purchased and coated by deposition of carbon nanotubes. This nano coating imparted a greater surface area on the QCM sensor. An increased surface area allowed the adsorption of more water molecules for given moisture levels, thus increasing the QCM's ability to measure moisture. The resulting sensor was tested to measure soil moisture contents in controlled experiments in the laboratory. Test results indicate that the developed sensor can measure moisture inside a porous media effectively. It is hoped that this sensor can be networked in future for intelligent profiling of moisture in porous media wirelessly and remotely.