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A low-cost gold-coated optical fiber sensor for in-situ microplastic detection in water
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Researchers developed a low-cost gold-coated single-multi-single (SMS) optical fiber sensor for in situ detection of polyethylene microplastics in water, using light interactions at the fiber-microplastic interface to correlate transmittance spectra with microplastic concentration. Gold deposition on the sensing region via sputtering improved sensor sensitivity and reliability, enabling real-time microplastic monitoring in aquatic environments.
An optical fiber-based sensor in the configuration of single-multi-single (SMS) modes structure is proposed to detect polyethylene microplastic particles inside aquatic environments via the interaction of light at the interface of optical fiber and the microplastic solutions. Microplastics negatively affect biological systems since living creatures may consume the pollutant. The data on the relationship between the transmittance spectrum and its corresponding wavelength value can be used to correlate and identify the concentration of the microplastic solution. Deposition of gold on the sensing region through sputtering is investigated to improve the sensitivity and reliability of the SMS sensor. This suggests the potential for a gold-coated SMS sensor for in-situ, low-cost and real-time microplastic sensing applications.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.