Electrospun nanofiber mats for evanescent optical fiber sensors

In this work, a study about the optical response of electrospun nanofiber (ENF) coatings for their use in evanescent optical fiber sensors is presented. Several types of ENF mats composed of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) were developed with different ENF diameters and densities. These ENF mats were depos...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Urrutia Azcona, Aitor, Goicoechea Fernández, Javier, Rivero Fuente, Pedro J., Matías Maestro, Ignacio, Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:España
Recursos:Universidad Pública de Navarra
Repositorio:Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarra
OAI Identifier:oai:academica-e.unavarra.es:2454/50630
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/2454/50630
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Electrospinning
Swelling
Humidity sensing
Evanescent optical fiber sensors
Optical response
Descrição
Resumo:In this work, a study about the optical response of electrospun nanofiber (ENF) coatings for their use in evanescent optical fiber sensors is presented. Several types of ENF mats composed of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) were developed with different ENF diameters and densities. These ENF mats were deposited onto an optical fiber core in order to fabricate humidity evanescent optical fiber sensors. The devices were exposed to relative humidity (RH) variations from 30% RH to 95%RH. The transfer functions of the devices (transmitted optical power versus relative humidity) presented two well-differenced behaviors depending on the ENF diameter and the ENF mat density. The devices with lower ENF diameters and higher mat density showed an increase in the transmitted optical power when RH increased. On the contrary, the devices with higher ENF diameters and lower mat density showed a decrease in the transmitted optical power when RH increased. In addition to this, sensors with thinner ENF overlays, showed a higher sensitivity. In order to study the response time of these devices, the ENFs sensors were submitted to human breathing cycles and presented a response time around 340 ms (exhalation). In spite of the high RH conditions of this experiment, the devices showed a recovery time around 210 ms and a negligible hysteresis or drift with respect to the initial condition (inhalation).