Gas sensing properties of a maghemite-coupled porphyrin thin film–based optical waveguide sensor

Abstract

This study concerns the development of a maghemite (γ-Fe2O3)-coupled tetra sulfophenyl porphyrin (TSPP) thin film–based optical waveguide (OWG) sensor (TSPP-γ-Fe2O3-OWG) for the detection of ethylenediamine (EDA). For ease of manufacture, we fabricated sensors using a spin-coating technique, and characterized their response based on their ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectra and the response intensity of OWG sensor. We have observed significant changes in the location of the peaks in the sensor’s UV-vis absorption spectra after exposed to EDA gas, indicating aggregation of TSPP. Optical characterization confirmed that the combination of TSPP with maghemite (TSPP-γ-Fe2O3-OWG) had improved device response, with twice as high as those of the acid-treated TSPP-OWG sensor, and 30 times higher than that of the pure γ-Fe2O3-OWG sensor. At ambient temperature, the composite sensor exhibited a linear response to EDA gas in the concentration range of 0.1–1000 ppm with signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) 8.33, confirming that the improved stability of the composite TSPP-γ-Fe2O3 thin-film OWG enables the detection of trace amounts of gas with high sensitivity and selectivity.