US Patent 7901776 - Plasma deposited nanoporous chemical sensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7901776.html

This patent from 3M teaches a way to manufacture a nanoporous carbon used in chemical sensor and having more uniform pore size distribution than microporous activated carbon. Claim 1 reads:

1. A microporous carbon material suitable for use as a sensor, comprising:

a porous carbon skeleton having an average pore size from 0.1 to 10 nanometers and being substantially free of pores greater than 1 micrometer;

wherein the porous carbon skeleton has an effective coefficient of extinction of less than 0.5, and wherein the refractive index of the microporous carbon material changes in the presence of an adsorbed analyte.