@article{Belal2026, 
author = {Mohamed Ahmed Belal and Sugato Hajra and Ahmed M. Bayoumy and Mohammed H. Eldesouki and Kushal Ruthvik Kaja and Swati Panda and Dandugudumula Ramu and Ahmed Abd El-moneim and P.G.R. Achary and Hoe Joon Kim},
title = {Transformation of rusted iron into an IDE-based sensor for ethanol detection and self-powered humidity sensing},
year = {2026},
journal = {Journal of Materiomics},
volume = {12},
number = {4},
keywords = {Volatile organic compounds, Ethanol, Spray coating, TENG, LIG},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1016/j.jmat.2026.101188},
doi = {10.1016/j.jmat.2026.101188},
abstract = {Volatile organic compound (VOC) sensors and triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are highly significant applications with broad potential across multiple fields, including non-invasive disease biomarker monitoring and sustainable energy harvesting for electronic devices. This study reports the synthesis of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles derived from recycled iron screws using a closed-system nitric acid leaching process, followed by calcination, offering low-cost, eco-friendly, and added-value products that reduce the negative environmental impacts of waste materials. The synthesized material is thoroughly characterized to investigate its phase purity, surface morphology, and suitability for TENG and ethanol-sensing applications. A spray coating technique was employed to deposit the α-Fe2O3 ink onto laser-induced graphene interdigitated electrodes (LIG-IDE) fabricated via CO2 laser engraving of a polyimide flexible substrate. The fabricated α-Fe2O3-based sensor exhibits multifunctional capabilities, owing to the material's biocompatibility. The α-Fe2O3-based sensor exhibits a high performance for ethanol detection at room temperature, with a sensor response of 47 and response/recovery times of 104/126 s, respectively, at 100 ppm. The TENG device exhibits stable output characteristics of 3 V and a maximum power of 9.5 nW. The electrical output from biomechanical motions confirms its potential for energy harvesting applications, and a further self-powered humidity sensor was demonstrated. These results highlight the excellent potential of α-Fe2O3 for both TENG applications and VOCs detection, recommending its use in environmental and industrial monitoring.}
}