Repository logo
 

Mid-IR Evanescent-field Fiber Sensor with Enhanced Sensitivity for Volatile Organic Compounds

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Change log

Authors

Platkov, Max 
Prestage, Joshua 
Basov, Svetlana 
Izakson, Gregory 

Abstract

The increasing awareness of the harsh environmental and health risks associated with air pollution has placed volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sensor technologies in elevated demand. While the currently available VOC-monitoring technologies are either bulky and expensive, or only capable of measuring a total VOC concentration, the selective detection of VOCs in the gas-phase remains a challenge. To overcome this, a novel method and device based on mid-IR evanescent-wave fiber-optic spectroscopy, which enables enhanced detection of VOCs, is hereby proposed. This is achieved by increasing the number of analyte molecules in the proximity of the evanescent field via capillary condensation inside nano-porous microparticles coated on the fiber surface. The nano-porous structure of the coating allows the VOC analytes to rapidly diffuse into the pores and become concentrated at the surface of the fiber, thereby allowing the utilization of highly sensitive evanescent-wave spectroscopy. To ascertain the effectiveness and performance of the sensor, different VOCs are measured, and the enhanced sensitivity is analyzed using a custom-built gas cell. According to the results presented here, our VOC sensor shows a significantly increased sensitivity compared to a non-coated fiber.

Description

Keywords

34 Chemical Sciences

Journal Title

RSC Advances

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2046-2069
2046-2069

Volume Title

Publisher

Royal Society of Chemistry

Rights

All rights reserved
Sponsorship
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/L015889/1)
Innovative Research Call in Explosives and Weapons Detection 2016, Henslow Research Fellowship at Darwin College, Cambridge.