A wireless electrode-free QCM-D in a multi-resonance mode for volatile organic compounds discrimination

[Display omitted] •An artificial olfactory system has been developed based on a single element wireless electrodeless QCM with dissipation.•Acoustic spectrometer method has been adopted to analyze the reaction between analyte vapors and sensing film via harmonics.•The gas discrimination capability of the artificial olfactory system has an optimal recognition rate of 97.5 % with KNN. Wireless sensor technology is a facile way of realizing low cost and miniaturized device for the detection of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A wireless electrodeless quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (WE-QCM-D) sensor array was developed by using a single sensor working in a multi-resonance mode, which obtained an acoustic spectra of the quartz crystal at four harmonics (6 MHz, 18 MHz, 30 MHz and 42 MHz). Multi-responses (frequency shift, and energy dissipation) of WE-QCM-D sensor array were obtained via a ring-down mode and employed as discrimination factors for VOCs. The gas discrimination capability of the WE-QCM-D sensor array has been tested by coating a 100 μg polyvinylpyrrolidone film on the quartz disc and achieved an optimal recognition rate of 97.5 % with K nearest neighbor algorithm. The results indicate that the single element WE-QCM-D sensor array could be a promising way to realize compact and low-cost VOCs monitoring systems.