{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,25]],"date-time":"2025-11-25T15:26:23Z","timestamp":1764084383296,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,5]],"date-time":"2023-08-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1691193600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Grant Nos.12172002","Grant Nos. 202004h07020026"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Grant Nos.12172002","Grant Nos. 202004h07020026"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Key Research and Development Program Projects in Anhui Province","award":["Grant Nos.12172002","Grant Nos. 202004h07020026"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Grant Nos.12172002","Grant Nos. 202004h07020026"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In this paper, novel humidity sensors based on montmorillonite, kaolinite, and composite films coated on micro-cantilevers were prepared to measure the relative humidity (RH) values by the deflection of a micro-cantilever (MC) at room temperature. The humidity-sensing properties, such as response and recovery, sensitivity, repeatability, humidity hysteresis, and long-term stability, were investigated in the range of working humidity (10\u201380% RH). The humidity response in the close humidity range of 10% RH to 80% RH revealed a linear increase in water absorption of montmorillonite, kaolinite, and montmorillonite\/kaolinite mixed dispersant (1:1) as a function of RH with linear correlation factors between the humidity change and deflection estimated to be 0.994, 0.991, and 0.946, respectively. Montmorillonite\u2019s sensitivity was better than kaolinite\u2019s, with the mixed-clay mineral film\u2019s response falling somewhere in between. This research provides a feasible and effective approach to constructing high-performance MC humidity sensors that can be operated at room temperature based on clay minerals.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s23156962","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,5]],"date-time":"2023-08-05T10:25:36Z","timestamp":1691231136000},"page":"6962","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Fabrication of Micro-Cantilever Sensor Based on Clay Minerals for Humidity Detection"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-0890-5626","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yiting","family":"Xu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4247-1778","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Song","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-5915-9094","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Junfeng","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-0557-4579","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Songyang","family":"Chai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6562-2466","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jianjun","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9671-5542","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Changguo","family":"Xue","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China"},{"name":"CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shangquan","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"25529","DOI":"10.1021\/acsami.6b08071","article-title":"Excellent Humidity Sensor Based on LiCl Loaded Hierarchically Porous Polymeric Microspheres","volume":"8","author":"Jiang","year":"2016","journal-title":"ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"441","DOI":"10.1016\/j.snb.2009.07.007","article-title":"Capacitive humidity sensor design based on anodic aluminum oxide","volume":"141","author":"Kim","year":"2009","journal-title":"Sens. Actuators B-Chem."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"055002","DOI":"10.1088\/1361-665X\/ab78b6","article-title":"Miniaturized langasite MEMS micro-cantilever beam structured resonator for high temperature gas sensing","volume":"29","author":"Zhang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Smart Mater. Struct."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112911","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sna.2021.112911","article-title":"Moisture-induced reversible material transition behavior of Nickel (II) bromide for low humidity detection","volume":"331","author":"Yin","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sens. Actuators A Phys."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.1016\/j.supflu.2017.03.027","article-title":"Determination of composition of ethanol-CO2 mixtures at high pressures using frequency response of microcantilevers","volume":"132","author":"Baloch","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Supercrit. Fluids"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16231","DOI":"10.1039\/c1jm13037d","article-title":"Highly sensitive humidity sensors based on electro-spinning\/netting a polyamide 6 nano-fiber\/net modified by polyethyleneimine","volume":"21","author":"Wang","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Mater. Chem."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2389","DOI":"10.3390\/s7102389","article-title":"A MEMS-based air flow sensor with a free-standing micro-cantilever structure","volume":"7","author":"Wang","year":"2007","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"095008","DOI":"10.1088\/0960-1317\/22\/9\/095008","article-title":"Characterization of a silicon nanowire-based cantilever air-flow sensor","volume":"22","author":"Zhang","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Micromech. Microeng."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"075009","DOI":"10.1088\/1361-6439\/aab8ac","article-title":"An analysis of stepped trapezoidal-shaped microcantilever beams for MEMS-based devices","volume":"28","author":"Ashok","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Micromech. Microeng."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"D09308","DOI":"10.1029\/2004JD005647","article-title":"Infrared characterization of water uptake by low-temperature Na-montmorillonite: Implications for Earth and Mars","volume":"110","author":"Frinak","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"22673","DOI":"10.1021\/am5067496","article-title":"Room-Temperature Humidity-Sensing Performance of SiC Nanopaper","volume":"6","author":"Li","year":"2014","journal-title":"ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3359","DOI":"10.1021\/acsami.5b11325","article-title":"Highly Transparent Wafer-Scale Synthesis of Crystalline WS2 Nanoparticle Thin Film for Photodetector and Humidity-Sensing Applications","volume":"8","author":"Pawbake","year":"2016","journal-title":"ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11652","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jpcc.6b00135","article-title":"Synthesis and Study of Stable and Size-Controlled ZnO-SiO2 Quantum Dots: Application as a Humidity Sensor","volume":"120","author":"Mahjoub","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Phys. Chem. C"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"174","DOI":"10.1016\/j.snb.2009.11.051","article-title":"Humidity sensing properties of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel process","volume":"145","author":"Erol","year":"2010","journal-title":"Sens. Actuators B-Chem."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3309","DOI":"10.1021\/ie201509a","article-title":"Electrical Characterization of CdS Nanoparticles for Humidity Sensing Applications","volume":"51","author":"Demir","year":"2012","journal-title":"Ind. Eng. Chem. Res."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"88796","DOI":"10.1039\/C5RA17253E","article-title":"Ultra-thin V2O5 nanosheet based humidity sensor, photodetector and its enhanced field emission properties","volume":"5","author":"Pawar","year":"2015","journal-title":"RSC Adv."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"22094","DOI":"10.1021\/jp3080223","article-title":"Carbon Nanotube Based Humidity Sensor on Cellulose Paper","volume":"116","author":"Han","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Phys. Chem. C"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3358","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.96.7.3358","article-title":"Surface geochemistry of the clay minerals","volume":"96","author":"Sposito","year":"1999","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"687","DOI":"10.2138\/am-2020-7339","article-title":"Kaolinization of 2:1 type clay minerals with different swelling properties","volume":"105","author":"Li","year":"2020","journal-title":"Am. Mineral."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4445","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-7-4445-2007","article-title":"Heterogeneous uptake of the C-1 to C-4 organic acids on a swelling clay mineral","volume":"7","author":"Hatch","year":"2007","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"605","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clay.2008.04.012","article-title":"Adsorption of nitrobenzene and orthochlorophenol on dimethyl ditallowyl montmorillonite: A microstructural and thermodynamic study","volume":"42","author":"Zampori","year":"2009","journal-title":"Appl. Clay Sci."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7232","DOI":"10.1021\/ie060586j","article-title":"Adsorption of Chromium(VI) from Water by Clays","volume":"45","author":"Bhattacharyya","year":"2006","journal-title":"Ind. Eng. Chem. Res."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"609","DOI":"10.1346\/CCMN.1997.0450501","article-title":"An improved contaminant resistant clay for environmental clay liner applications","volume":"45","author":"Kajita","year":"1997","journal-title":"Clays Clay Miner."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"248","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clay.2009.06.001","article-title":"Montmorillonite intercalated with vitamin B1 as drug carrier","volume":"45","author":"Joshi","year":"2009","journal-title":"Appl. Clay Sci."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"551","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fuel.2019.04.072","article-title":"Effects of pore structure and wettability on methane adsorption capacity of mud rock: Insights from mixture of organic matter and clay minerals","volume":"251","author":"Luo","year":"2019","journal-title":"Fuel"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"148","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apsusc.2018.07.216","article-title":"Surface wettability of montmorillonite (001) surface as affected by surface charge and exchangeable cations: A molecular dynamic study","volume":"459","author":"Yi","year":"2018","journal-title":"Appl. Surf. Sci."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102266","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cis.2020.102266","article-title":"A review on clay wettability: From experimental investigations to molecular dynamics simulations","volume":"285","author":"Pan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Adv. Colloid Interface Sci."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"207","DOI":"10.1016\/S0169-1317(00)00016-8","article-title":"Traditional and new applications for kaolin, smectite, and palygorskite: A general overview","volume":"17","author":"Murray","year":"2000","journal-title":"Appl. Clay Sci."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"379","DOI":"10.1016\/0169-1317(91)90014-Z","article-title":"Overview\u2014Clay mineral applications","volume":"5","author":"Murray","year":"1991","journal-title":"Appl. Clay Sci."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"85","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cattod.2004.04.012","article-title":"Environmental catalysis by tailored materials derived from layered minerals","volume":"85","author":"Serwicka","year":"2004","journal-title":"Catal. Today"},{"key":"ref_31","first-page":"2402","article-title":"Pore size distribution characteristic and methane sorption capacity of clay minerals under different water saturation","volume":"42","author":"Dong","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. China Coal Soc."},{"key":"ref_32","first-page":"386","article-title":"Sorption studies of neutral red dye onto poly(acrylamide-co-maleic acid)-kaolinite\/montmorillonite composites","volume":"124","author":"Siyam","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Appl. Polym. Sci."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cemconres.2010.09.013","article-title":"The origin of the pozzolanic activity of calcined clay minerals: A comparison between kaolinite, illite and montmorillonite","volume":"41","author":"Fernandez","year":"2011","journal-title":"Cem. Concr. Res."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"737","DOI":"10.1016\/j.reactfunctpolym.2007.05.001","article-title":"Study on superabsorbent composites. IX: Synthesis, characterization and swelling behaviors of polyacrylamide\/clay composites based on various clays","volume":"67","author":"Zhang","year":"2007","journal-title":"React. Funct. Polym."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"202","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clay.2010.11.017","article-title":"In-situ FTIR analyses of bentonite under high-pressure","volume":"51","author":"Alabarse","year":"2011","journal-title":"Appl. Clay Sci."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Caccamo, M.T., Mavilia, G., Mavilia, L., Lombardo, D., and Magazu, S. (2020). Self-Assembly Processes in Hydrated Montmorillonite by FTIR Investigations. Materials, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/ma13051100"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10599","DOI":"10.1007\/s11356-019-07550-4","article-title":"Preparation, characterization, and Cd(II) sorption of\/on cysteine-montmorillonite composites synthesized at various pH","volume":"27","author":"Hu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"366","DOI":"10.1007\/s42860-021-00133-w","article-title":"New insight into the relationships between structural and ftir spectroscopic features of kaolinites","volume":"69","author":"Drits","year":"2021","journal-title":"Clays Clay Miner."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Du Plessis, P.I., Gazley, M.F., Tay, S.L., Trunfull, E.F., Knorsch, M., Branch, T., and Fourie, L.F. (2021). Quantification of Kaolinite and Halloysite Using Machine Learning from FTIR, XRF, and Brightness Data. Minerals, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/min11121350"},{"key":"ref_40","first-page":"1352","article-title":"Synthesis of superhydrophobic montmorillonite by edge covalent bonding with monofunctional alkoxysilane","volume":"5","author":"Ianchis","year":"2011","journal-title":"Optoelectron. Adv. Mater.-Rapid Commun."},{"key":"ref_41","first-page":"1604","article-title":"Powdered X-ray diffraction, FTIR, TGA and DTA studies of montmorillonite derivatives","volume":"97","author":"Majumder","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Indian Chem. Soc."},{"key":"ref_42","first-page":"414","article-title":"Preparation and characterization of organic montmorillonite","volume":"36","author":"Han","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Chengdu Univ. (Nat. Sci. Ed.)"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"83","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clay.2017.11.007","article-title":"Adsorption of ammonium by different natural clay minerals: Characterization, kinetics and adsorption isotherms","volume":"159","author":"Alshameri","year":"2018","journal-title":"Appl. Clay Sci."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"80","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mee.2013.07.015","article-title":"Atomic force microscope microcantilevers used as sensors for monitoring humidity","volume":"113","author":"Steffens","year":"2014","journal-title":"Microelectron. Eng."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li, D., Le, X., Pang, J., and Xie, J. (2019, January 23\u201327). An ALN Resonant Microcantilever Humidity Sensor by Activating Specific Sets of Top Electrodes Based on Graphene Oxide. Proceedings of the 2019 20th International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems & Eurosensors XXXIII (TRANSDUCERS & EUROSENSORS XXXIII), Berlin, Germany.","DOI":"10.1109\/TRANSDUCERS.2019.8808713"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"923","DOI":"10.1109\/LED.2021.3073722","article-title":"High Resolution and Fast Response of Humidity Sensor Based on AlN Cantilever With Two Groups of Segmented Electrodes","volume":"42","author":"Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"IEEE Electron Device Lett."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"198","DOI":"10.1016\/j.snb.2018.12.021","article-title":"Humidity sensors based on AlN microcantilevers excited at high-order resonant modes and sensing layers of uniform graphene oxide","volume":"283","author":"Le","year":"2019","journal-title":"Sens. Actuators B-Chem."}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/23\/15\/6962\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T20:26:19Z","timestamp":1760127979000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/23\/15\/6962"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,5]]},"references-count":47,"journal-issue":{"issue":"15","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8]]}},"alternative-id":["s23156962"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s23156962","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"1424-8220"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,5]]}}}