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Published on: May 5, 2016
Diffractive optical chemical sensor based on light absorption
F Nakajima1, Y Hirakawa, T Kaneta
1Department of Chemical Systems and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, Hakozaki, Fukuoka 812, Japan.
Abstract:
A new type of chemical sensor based on light absorption is proposed. An array of zones alternatively containing the pH indicator thymolphthalein is formed in a gelatin film. By changing the sample solution from acidic to alkaline, a blue stripe appears in the gelatin film. This acts as a transmission grating and diffracts the introduced laser beam. Theory predicts that this method, which is based on light absorption/beam diffraction, is as sensitive as or more sensitive than fluorometry.
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