Scientists Use Inkjets to Print Explosives Detectors

Explosive devices aren't usually cheap or highly portable, but scientists have recently uncovered a method for building such devices that relies on old-school inkjet printers and has the advantage of coming with some extremely low production costs.

This technology was developed by a group of scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology and uses an inkjet printed ammonia sensor that can help detect IEDs (improvised explosive devices).

In order to accomplish this, the “ink” utilized by the printers is made up of carbon nanotubes that contain silver nanoparticles and are passed through the printer at temperatures of 100C.

The printed nanotubes are then coated with a conductive polymer used to attract ammonia, explains Uber Gizmo.

The same method can also be sued for detecting other gasses as the nanotubes have only to be coated with a substance that attracts other gasses.

Right now, the sensors made by using this method require some power in order to operate, but scientists are already working on developing a sensor that runs passively without any power consumption at all.