title: Dyeless optical detection of ammonia in the gaseous phase using a pH-responsive polymer--characterization of the sorption process.
abstract: pH-responsive polymers enable the dyeless optical detection of acidic or basic pollutants in air. The characterization of the sorption process and the optimization of the response time of the sensitive layers were high-lighted. The swelling of a pH-responsive polysiloxane induced by sorption of gaseous ammonia was investigated by measurement techniques such as spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). Furthermore, the pH-responsive polymer was applied for the detection of gaseous ammonia using the LED-based reflectometric interference spectroscopy set-up (RIfS4lambda). A limit of detection of 0.30 mg/m3 ammonia and a response time (t90%) of 35 s could be verified. The application of pH-responsive polymers can be a powerful alternative to dye-based optical sensing, since photobleaching or leaching of the sensitive functional unit cannot occur applying this approach, and since the properties of the sensitive layer proved to be very promising.
authors.affiliation: Eberhard-Karls-University, Institute for Theoretical and Physical Chemistry, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rathgeb
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reichl
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herold
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mader
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mutschler
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gauglitz