Potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) sensing based on microfiber sensors.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Sensing
• Optical Sensors

Background:

• Accurate detection of chemical concentrations is crucial in various industrial and environmental applications.
• Microfiber-based sensors offer potential for high-sensitivity and miniaturized sensing platforms.
• Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) is a common oxidant with applications in water treatment and chemical synthesis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate two straight microfiber sensors for detecting varying concentrations of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) solutions.
• To compare the sensing performance, specifically sensitivity and resolution, of silica and poly(methyl methacrylate) microfiber sensors.
• To evaluate the suitability of these microfiber sensors for practical KMnO4 concentration measurements.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of silica microfibers using the flame brushing technique.
• Fabrication of poly(methyl methacrylate) microfibers using the direct drawing technique.
• Measurement of peak voltage of transmission power across microfiber sensors exposed to KMnO4 solutions ranging from 1% to 6% concentration.

Main Results:

• Silica microfiber sensor achieved a sensitivity of 184.5 μW/% and a resolution of 0.0035%.
• Polymer microfiber sensor demonstrated a sensitivity of 32.57 μW/% and a resolution of 0.0064%.
• Silica microfiber exhibited significantly higher sensitivity and better resolution than the polymer microfiber for KMnO4 detection.

Conclusions:

• Silica microfiber sensors are more effective than polymer microfiber sensors for detecting potassium permanganate concentrations.
• The developed microfiber sensor technology shows promise for sensitive and precise chemical sensing applications.
• Further research can explore optimizing microfiber fabrication and sensing mechanisms for enhanced performance.