Abstract
Optical chemical sensors have been the focus of much research attention in recent years because of their importance in industrial, environmental and biomedical applications [1]. This class of sensors combines chemical and biological recognition with advances in optoelectronic technologies. The application of solgel materials to these sensors, especially in the form of thin films, has attracted considerable interest due to the ease of fabrication and design flexibility of the process. The nature of the sol-gel process lends itself very well to the deposition of thin films using a variety of techniques such as dip-coating, spin-coating and spraying. In many sensor applications, the sol-gel film is used to provide a micro-porous support matrix in which analyte-sensitive molecules are entrapped and into which smaller analyte species may diffuse and interact [2,3]. Sol-gel films have many advantages as support matrices over polymer supports, including, for example, strong adhesion, good mechanical strength as well as excellent optical transparency. The versatility of the process facilitates tailoring of the physico-chemical film properties to optimize sensor performance. For example, films can be designed which have optimum porosity while minimizing leaching of the indicator molecules. In this chapter, the versatility of the sol-gel process with regard to the design of films for specific optical chemical sensor applications is highlighted.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
B. Valeur, Molecular Fluorescence: Principles and Applications, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim (2002)
R. Zusman, C. Rottman, M. Ottolenghi, D. Avnir, Doped sol-gel glasses as chemical sensors, J. Non.-Cryst. Solids, 122, 107 (1990)
D. MacCraith, Optical chemical sensors based on sol-gel-derived films, in: MP Andrews, SI Najafi (Eds.), Sol-Gel and Polymer Photonic Devices, SPIE, Bellingham, Washington (1997)
C. J. Brinker, G. W. Scherer, Sol-Gel Science, Academic Press, New York (1990)
C. McDonagh, F. Sheridan, T. Butler, B. D. MacCraith, Characterisation of sol-gel-derived silica films, J. Non-Cryst. Solids, 194, 72 (1996)
R. M. Almeida, X. Orignac, D. Barbier, Silica-based sol-gel films doped with active elements, J. Sol-Gel Sci. Technol., 2, 1–3, 465 (1994)
J. Hradil, C. Davis, K. Mongey, C. McDonagh, B.D. MacCraith, Temperature-corrected pressure sensitive paint measurements using a single camera and a dual lifetime approach, Meas. Sci. Technol., 13 (10), 1552 (2002)
A. Atkinson, J. Doorbar, A. Hudd, D. L. Segal, P. J. White, Continuous Ink-Jet Printing using Sol-gel Ceramic Links, J. Sol-Gel Sci. Technol., 8, 1093 (1997)
A. Bromberg, J. Zilberstein, S. Reisemberg, E. Benori, W. Silberstein, J. Zimnavoda, G. Frishman, A. Kritzman, Optical-fiber sensors for blood gases and pH, based on porous glass tips, Sensors and Actuators B, 31, 181 (1996)
C. Malins, S. Fanni, H. Glever, J. Vos, B. D. MacCraith, The preparation of a sol-gel glass oxygen sensor incorporating a covalently bound fluorescent dye, Anal. Commun., 36 (3–4), 3 (1999)
C. McDonagh, P. Bowe, K. Mongey and B. D. MacCraith, Characterisation of porosity and sensor response times of sol-gel-derived thin films for oxygen sensor applications, J. Non-Cryst. Solids, 306 (2), 138 (2002)
C. McDonagh, B.D. Mac Craith, A. K. McEvoy, Tailoring of sol-gel films for optical sensing of oxygen in gas and aqueous phase, Anal. Chem., 70, 45 (1998)
T.M. Butler, B.D. MacCraith, C. McDonagh, Leaching in sol-gel-derived silica films for optical pH sensors, J. Non-Cryst. Solids, 224, 249 (1998)
A. K. McEvoy, C. McDonagh, B. D. MacCraith, Dissolved oxygen sensor based on fluorescence quenching of oxyen-sensitive ruthenium complexes immobilised in sol-gel-derived porous silica coatings, Analyst, 121, 785 (1996)
K. Matsui, M. Tominaga, Y. Arai, H. Satoh, M. Kyoto, Fluorescence of pyrene in sol-gel silica derived from triethoxysilane, J. Non-Cryst. Solids, 169, 295 (1994)
P. Lnnocenzi, M. O. Abdirashid, M. Guglielmi, Structure and properties of sol-gel coatings from methyltriethoxysilane and tetraethoxysilane, J. Sol-Gel Sci. Technol. 3, 47 (1994)
B. D. MacCraith, Enhanced evanescent wave sensors based on sol-gel-derived porous glass coatings, Sensors and Actuators B, 11, 29 (1993)
J. F. Gouin, A. Doyle and B. D. MacCraith, Fluorescence capture by planar waveguide as platform for optical sensors, Electronics Letters, 34 (17), 1685 (1998)
L. Polerecky, Optimization of multimode waveguide platforms for optical chemical sensors and biosensors, Ph.D Thesis, Dublin City University, Ireland (2002)
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
MacCraith, B.D., McDonagh, C. (2004). Optical Chemical Sensors. In: Aegerter, M.A., Mennig, M. (eds) Sol-Gel Technologies for Glass Producers and Users. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-88953-5_41
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-88953-5_41
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-5455-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-88953-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive