Fiber-Optic Chemical Sensors Using Sol-Gel Membranes and Photocatalysts

Fiber-optic sensors have been developed that incorporate multi-layer organo-silica sol-gel membranes. Multilayer sol-gel sensors have been designed to offer improved stability over other sol-gel membranes and to measure COsb2 and the unreactive analytes trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene. Single layer pH sensors were fabricated using a base-catalyzed organo-silica sol-gel containing organosilane coupling agents. A base catalyst was found to be better suited for complete incorporation of the aminopropyltriethoxysilane used to attach dye molecules. This allows the production of optically transparent gels that respond to pH in less than 15 seconds. Dual layer COsb2 sensors use the pH sol-gel layer overcoated with a hydrophobic ORganically MOdified SIlica sol-gel membrane (ORMOSIL). The ORMOSIL reduces much of the pH cross sensitivity found in gas sensors and allows fast, reversible diffusion of COsb2. The sensors respond to COsb2 gas within 10 seconds and dissolved COsb2 in 2 minutes. COsb2 sensors have been found to be stable and reproducible for 12 months when stored dry and at least 6 months when stored in buffer. Many volatile organochloride compounds (VOC's) have been difficult to measure using current fiber-optic sensor transduction schemes. The three-layer optical sensor described here incorporates a TiOsb2/SiOsb2 membrane to degrade VOC's into smaller, detectable products, Hsp+, Clsp- and COsb2. Upon exposure to UV light, TiOsb2, a semiconductor with a bandgap of 3.2 eV, produces highly reactive electron-hole pairs that photodegrade organic compounds. The products produced on the TiOsb2 surface diffuse into the nearby indicator membrane where they are detected. Carbon dioxide and protons produced are detected by the pH sensitive indicator layer described above. Preliminary data for the measurement of VOC's indicates that the detection limit for PCE is less than 1.65 ppm in the headspace (10 ppm in solution). Photocatalysis is also used to measure uranyl ion by the fluorescence quenching of a dye, calcein, followed by uranyl-induced photooxidative fluorescence recovery. The photooxidative degradation of uranyl-bound calcein leads to an increase in observable fluorescence. The limit of detection for UOsb2sp{2+} is 10 ppb based on both quenching and photooxidation fluorescence recover