RT Journal Article
T1 3D Printing Filaments Facilitate the Development of EvanescentWave Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) Chemosensors
A1 Darder, María del Mar
A1 Serrano, Luis A.
A1 Bedoya, Maximino
A1 Orellana Moraleda, Guillermo
AB One of the major difficulties in the development of evanescent wave optical fiber sensors (EWOFS) lies in the complexity of the manufacturing of the chemosensitive element, particularly when using plastic optical fibers (POFs). While these fibers are appealing waveguides thanks to their low cost, ease of connectorization and robustness, the need for removing the cladding material complicates the EWOFS fabrication. In this paper we discuss how 3D printing filaments can serve as an alternative to commercially available POF for the development of EWOFS. In the process of replacing the traditional POF, we compared the performance of two EWOFS for monitoring airborne formaldehyde. These sensitive elements were manufactured either from 1.75 mm diameter 3D printing filaments, or from a commercially available POF. After the optimization of their respective fabrication protocols, the analytical performance of the two formaldehyde EWOFS was compared in terms of sensitivity and reproducibility. In this regard, the easy-to-manufacture 3D printing filament-based waveguides provided 5-fold lower detection limits with respect to the commercial POF-based sensors. Although no statistically significant differences were found in terms of reproducibility, the simplification of the sensor manufacturing process together with the increased analytical performance for chemical sensing spur the use of 3D printing filaments for the development of new POF-based EWOFS.
PB MDPI
SN 2227-9040
YR 2022
FD 2022
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/72317
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/72317
LA eng
NO EU-LIFE Program
DS Docta Complutense
RD 30 abr 2024