Mid-Infrared Sensing of Organic Pollutants in Aqueous Environments

Sensors

Bobby Pejcic¹  Matthew Myers² 

[1] CSIRO Petroleum, P.O. Box 1130, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia;

关键词: mid-infrared sensor;    ATR;    hydrocarbon;    environmental monitoring;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s90806232

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The development of chemical sensors for monitoring the levels of organic pollutants in the aquatic environment has received a great deal of attention in recent decades. In particular, the mid-infrared (MIR) sensor based on attenuated total reflectance (ATR) is a promising analytical tool that has been used to detect a variety of hydrocarbon compounds (i.e., aromatics, alkyl halides, phenols, etc.) dissolved in water. It has been shown that under certain conditions the MIR-ATR sensor is capable of achieving detection limits in the 10–100 ppb concentration range. Since the infrared spectral features of every single organic molecule are unique, the sensor is highly selective, making it possible to distinguish between many different analytes simultaneously. This review paper discusses some of the parameters (i.e., membrane type, film thickness, conditioning) that dictate MIR-ATR sensor response. The performance of various chemoselective membranes which are used in the fabrication of the sensor will be evaluated. Some of the challenges associated with long-term environmental monitoring are also discussed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2009 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland