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Recent Advances in Photoacoustic and Photothermal Gas Spectroscopy

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Analytical Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 15250

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica (Department of Physics) Politecnico di Bari, Via Edoardo Orabona n. 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
Interests: optoelectronics and nanotechnology; innovative optical gas sensor systems based on quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS); light-induced thermoelastic spectroscopy (LITES) and tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) and their application to environmental monitoring, industrial process analysis, control, medical diagnostics
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Guest Editor
Institute of Laser Spectroscopy, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
Interests: photoacoustic spectrometry; photothermal spectroscopy; laser applications in environmental monitoring; industrial process control and medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The growing interest in developing photoacoustic and photothermal sensors is widely justified by the possibility of avoiding the use of optical detectors while exploiting the high selectivity provided by the spectral characteristics of laser sources. Moreover, these spectroscopic approaches proved to be highly compatible with the engineering and downscaling of sensing devices. So far the developed gas sensor prototypes have promptly satisfied the requests for portability and deployability for out-of-laboratory operations, but now they are called to sustain a further evolution. The challenges posed by the technology and applications market consist in a high level of integrability, miniaturization and compaction, modularity, and versatility for detecting different analytes and working in harsh environments. For example, applications such as environmental monitoring assisted by unmanned vehicles require multi-gas detection, low power consumption, lightweight and robustness, while applications such as leak detection or natural gas analysis in the oil & gas field mainly require the sensitive elements to operate properly in wide ranges of pressure and temperature. Furthermore, the sensors must be easy to be integrated into pre-existing measurement tools and immune to external noise at the same time. The constant need to address these issues demands for a state of the art of optical spectroscopy updated and easily accessible to the scientific community.

For this reason, we conceived this Special Issue, in collaboration with the MDPI journal Molecules, with the aim of collecting and connecting all the provided contributions, works, and analyses that are currently pushing photoacoustic (PAS) and photothermal (PTS) gas spectroscopy to the state of the art. The topics will include, among many other related approaches and applications, the newest configurations of photoacoustic resonant cells and all the developments related with Quartz-Enhanced Photoacoustic Spectroscopy (QEPAS): from the implementation of custom tuning forks (QTFs) and custom acoustic detection modules to more fundamental issues concerning the physics of photoacoustic generation, energy relaxation, QTF vibrational dynamics. The other core topic will be photothermal gas spectroscopy in its diversified declinations and architectures, such as photothermal sensors based on fibers or optical cavities and novel approaches relying on quartz tuning forks that evolved in Light-Induced Thermoelastic Spectroscopy (LITES). It is our hope that all the articles collected in the Special Issue will provide useful guidelines for spectroscopists to identify suitable solutions for in-situ and real-time applications.

Dr. Angelo Sampaolo
Dr. Hongpeng Wu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • gas sensing
  • spectroscopy sensing
  • photoacoustic spectroscopy
  • quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy
  • photothermal spectroscopy
  • light-induced thermoelastic spectroscopy
  • quartz tuning forks
  • environmental monitoring
  • in-situ real-time applications

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 3424 KiB  
Article
Detection of Hydrogen Sulfide in Sewer Using an Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplified Diode Laser and a Gold-Plated Photoacoustic Cell
by Chaofan Feng, Marilena Giglio, Biao Li, Angelo Sampaolo, Pietro Patimisco, Vincenzo Spagnolo, Lei Dong and Hongpeng Wu
Molecules 2022, 27(19), 6505; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27196505 - 1 Oct 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2048
Abstract
A photoacoustic detection module based on a gold-plated photoacoustic cell was reported in this manuscript to measure hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas in sewers. A 1582 nm distributed feedback (DFB) diode laser was employed as the excitation light source of the photoacoustic [...] Read more.
A photoacoustic detection module based on a gold-plated photoacoustic cell was reported in this manuscript to measure hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas in sewers. A 1582 nm distributed feedback (DFB) diode laser was employed as the excitation light source of the photoacoustic sensor. Operating pressure within the photoacoustic cell and laser modulation depth were optimized at room temperature, and the long-term stability of the photoacoustic sensor system was analyzed by an Allan-Werle deviation analysis. Experimental results showed that under atmospheric pressure and room temperature conditions, the photoacoustic detection module exhibits a sensitivity of 11.39 μV/ppm of H2S and can reach a minimum detection limit (1σ) of 140 ppb of H2S with an integration time of 1 s. The sensor was tested for in-field measurements by sampling gas in the sewer near the Shanxi University canteen: levels of H2S of 81.5 ppm were measured, below the 100 ppm limit reported by the Chinese sewer bidding document. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Photoacoustic and Photothermal Gas Spectroscopy)
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12 pages, 7225 KiB  
Article
A New Photoacoustic Soot Spectrophone for Filter-Free Measurements of Black Carbon at 880 nm
by Goufrane Abichou, Soulemane H. Ngagine, Tong N. Ba, Gaoxuan Wang, Pascal Flament, Karine Deboudt, Sébastien Dusanter, Markus W. Sigrist, Alexandre Tomas and Weidong Chen
Molecules 2022, 27(18), 6065; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27186065 - 16 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1849
Abstract
A new photoacoustic soot spectrometer (PASS) operating at 880 nm was developed, for the first time, for filter-free measurements of black carbon (BC). The performance of the developed PASS was characterized and evaluated using a reference aethalometer AE51 on incense smoke in the [...] Read more.
A new photoacoustic soot spectrometer (PASS) operating at 880 nm was developed, for the first time, for filter-free measurements of black carbon (BC). The performance of the developed PASS was characterized and evaluated using a reference aethalometer AE51 on incense smoke in the air. An excellent correlation on the measurement of incense smoke was found between the two instruments in comparison with a regression coefficient of 0.99. A 1 σ detection limit of 0.8 µg m−3 was achieved for BC measurement at a time resolution of 1 s. It can be further reduced to 0.1 µg m−3, using a longer integration time of 1 min. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Photoacoustic and Photothermal Gas Spectroscopy)
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11 pages, 2348 KiB  
Communication
Spider Silk-Improved Quartz-Enhanced Conductance Spectroscopy for Medical Mask Humidity Sensing
by Leqing Lin, Yu Zhong, Haoyang Lin, Chenglong Wang, Zhifei Yang, Qian Wu, Di Zhang, Wenguo Zhu, Yongchun Zhong, Yuwei Pan, Jianhui Yu and Huadan Zheng
Molecules 2022, 27(13), 4320; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27134320 - 5 Jul 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2333
Abstract
Spider silk is one of the hottest biomaterials researched currently, due to its excellent mechanical properties. This work reports a novel humidity sensing platform based on a spider silk-modified quartz tuning fork (SSM-QTF). Since spider silk is a kind of natural moisture-sensitive material, [...] Read more.
Spider silk is one of the hottest biomaterials researched currently, due to its excellent mechanical properties. This work reports a novel humidity sensing platform based on a spider silk-modified quartz tuning fork (SSM-QTF). Since spider silk is a kind of natural moisture-sensitive material, it does not demand additional sensitization. Quartz-enhanced conductance spectroscopy (QECS) was combined with the SSM-QTF to access humidity sensing sensitively. The results indicate that the resonance frequency of the SSM-QTF decreased monotonously with the ambient humidity. The detection sensitivity of the proposed SSM-QTF sensor was 12.7 ppm at 1 min. The SSM-QTF sensor showed good linearity of ~0.99. Using this sensor, we successfully measured the humidity of disposable medical masks for different periods of wearing time. The results showed that even a 20 min wearing time can lead to a >70% humidity in the mask enclosed space. It is suggested that a disposable medical mask should be changed <2 h. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Photoacoustic and Photothermal Gas Spectroscopy)
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9 pages, 3161 KiB  
Article
Photoacoustic Effect of Near-Infrared Absorbing Organic Molecules via Click Chemistry
by Wenqing Zhu, Zongcheng Miao, Yaqin Chu, Liaoliao Li, Lei Wang and Dong Wang
Molecules 2022, 27(7), 2329; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27072329 - 4 Apr 2022
Viewed by 2127
Abstract
Near-infrared dyes were developed to be contrast agents due to their ability to improve the productivity of photoacoustic (PA) imaging and photothermal therapy (PTT) treatments. During the article, we described in detail the PA and PT effects of a category of organic molecules. [...] Read more.
Near-infrared dyes were developed to be contrast agents due to their ability to improve the productivity of photoacoustic (PA) imaging and photothermal therapy (PTT) treatments. During the article, we described in detail the PA and PT effects of a category of organic molecules. F4-TCNQ could potentially cause a red-shift in the peak PA intensity. The results show that the PTT intensity of the near-infrared dyes with phenyl groups were higher than near-infrared dyes with thiophene groups. We also investigated the photodynamic treatment effect of C1b to demonstrate that these dyes are highly desirable in biochemistry. The high photoacoustic intensity of the organic molecules and the good yield of reactive oxygen species could indicate that these dyes have good potential for a wide range of imaging applications. Finally, we embedded the dye (C1b) in a liposomal hydrophobic phospholipid bilayer (C1b⊂L) to facilitate the application of hydrophobic dyes in biomedical applications, which can be absorbed by cells with good compatible and high stability for the imaging of cellular PA. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Photoacoustic and Photothermal Gas Spectroscopy)
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10 pages, 2339 KiB  
Article
Calibration of Quartz-Enhanced Photoacoustic Sensors for Real-Life Adaptation
by Jesper B. Christensen, David Balslev-Harder, Lars Nielsen, Jan C. Petersen and Mikael Lassen
Molecules 2021, 26(3), 609; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030609 - 25 Jan 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2219
Abstract
We report on the use of quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy for continuous carbon-dioxide measurements in humid air over a period of six days. The presence of water molecules alters the relaxation rate of the target molecules and thus the amplitude of the photoacoustic signal. [...] Read more.
We report on the use of quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy for continuous carbon-dioxide measurements in humid air over a period of six days. The presence of water molecules alters the relaxation rate of the target molecules and thus the amplitude of the photoacoustic signal. Prior to the measurements, the photoacoustic sensor system was pre-calibrated using CO2 mole fractions in the range of 0–10−3 (0–1000 ppm) and at different relative humidities between 0% and 45%, while assuming a model hypothesis that allowed the photoacoustic signal to be perturbed linearly by H2O content. This calibration technique was compared against an alternative learning-based method, where sensor data from the first two days of the six-day period were used for self-calibration. A commercial non-dispersive infrared sensor was used as a CO2 reference sensor and provided the benchmark for the two calibration procedures. In our case, the self-calibrated method proved to be both more accurate and precise. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Photoacoustic and Photothermal Gas Spectroscopy)
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12 pages, 2115 KiB  
Article
Fiber-Coupled Quartz-Enhanced Photoacoustic Spectroscopy System for Methane and Ethane Monitoring in the Near-Infrared Spectral Range
by Giansergio Menduni, Fabrizio Sgobba, Stefano Dello Russo, Ada Cristina Ranieri, Angelo Sampaolo, Pietro Patimisco, Marilena Giglio, Vittorio M.N. Passaro, Sebastian Csutak, Dario Assante, Ezio Ranieri, Eric Geoffrion and Vincenzo Spagnolo
Molecules 2020, 25(23), 5607; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25235607 - 28 Nov 2020
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 3323
Abstract
We report on a fiber-coupled, quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) near-IR sensor for sequential detection of methane (CH4 or C1) and ethane (C2H6 or C2) in air. With the aim of developing a lightweight, compact, low-power-consumption sensor suitable for unmanned [...] Read more.
We report on a fiber-coupled, quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) near-IR sensor for sequential detection of methane (CH4 or C1) and ethane (C2H6 or C2) in air. With the aim of developing a lightweight, compact, low-power-consumption sensor suitable for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)-empowered environmental monitoring, an all-fiber configuration was designed and realized. Two laser diodes emitting at 1653.7 nm and 1684 nm for CH4 and C2H6 detection, respectively, were fiber-combined and fiber-coupled to the collimator port of the acoustic detection module. No cross talk between methane and ethane QEPAS signal was observed, and the related peak signals were well resolved. The QEPAS sensor was calibrated using gas samples generated from certified concentrations of 1% CH4 in N2 and 1% C2H6 in N2. At a lock-in integration time of 100 ms, minimum detection limits of 0.76 ppm and 34 ppm for methane and ethane were achieved, respectively. The relaxation rate of CH4 in standard air has been investigated considering the effects of H2O, N2 and O2 molecules. No influence on the CH4 QEPAS signal is expected when the water vapor concentration level present in air varies in the range 0.6–3%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Photoacoustic and Photothermal Gas Spectroscopy)
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