Highly sensitive optical waveguide sensor for SO₂ and H₂S detection in the parts-per-trillion regime using tetraaminophenyl porphyrin

ABSTRACT

Optical waveguide (OWG) sensors present great potential for detecting trace levels of harmful gases because of their high sensitivity and anti-electromagnetic interference. However, OWG-based SO2 and H2S-detecting sensors in the parts-per-trillion (ppt) range are still lacking. We fabricated 5,10,15,20-(tetra-4-aminophenyl) porphyrin (TAPP) thin film-based OWG sensor devices (TAPP-OWG) to detect SO2 and H2S gases, in which TAPP thin film was immobilized over the surface of a potassium ion exchange glass OWG. These sensors successfully measure extremely low concentrations of SO2 and H2S (detection limit = 1 ppt), providing good repeatability for SO2 (10 ppt) and H2S (10 ppt) gases, with relative standard deviations of 1.67% and 3.68%, respectively. With fast response (t1) and recovery (t2) times for SO2 (t1=4 s, t2=157 s) and H2S (t1=2 s, t2=117 s) at room temperature, TAPP thin film enhances the potential of OWGs for use in high-sensitivity trace-level gas detection.

KEYWORDS:

• Tetraaminophenyl porphyrin
• optical waveguide device
• sulphur dioxide
• hydrogen sulphide
• gas sensor

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 21765021).