Graphene-oxide-coated interferometric optical microfiber ethanol vapor sensor

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemical Sensing

Background:

• Optical fiber sensors offer non-destructive and remote sensing capabilities.
• Graphene oxide (GO) exhibits unique optical and adsorption properties suitable for gas sensing.
• Interferometric microfiber sensors provide high sensitivity due to evanescent field interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a novel graphene-oxide-coated interferometric microfiber sensor.
• To investigate the sensor's performance for highly sensitive ethanol vapor detection at room temperature.
• To analyze the influence of graphene oxide coating on sensor sensitivity and selectivity.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a polarization-maintaining optical fiber coated with graphene oxide.
• Utilizing an interferometric microfiber sensor configuration.
• Measuring the transmission spectrum changes in response to varying ethanol vapor concentrations (0-80 ppm).

Main Results:

• The sensor demonstrated a high sensitivity of 0.138 nm/ppm for ethanol vapor detection.
• The transmission spectrum exhibited a redshift with increasing ethanol concentration.
• The graphene oxide layer enhanced evanescent field effects and facilitated selective gas adsorption.

Conclusions:

• The graphene-oxide-coated microfiber sensor is highly effective for sensitive ethanol vapor detection at room temperature.
• The sensor's performance is attributed to the synergistic effects of evanescent field enhancement and gas adsorption by graphene oxide.
• This technology holds promise for advanced gas sensing applications requiring high sensitivity and selectivity.