A miniaturized oxygen sensor integrated on fiber surface based on evanescent-wave induced fluorescence quenching

In this work, a miniaturized sensor was integrated on fiber surface and developed for oxygen determination through evanescent-wave induced fluorescence quenching. The sensor was designed by using light emitting diode (LED) as light source and optical fiber as light transmission element. Tris(2,2'-bipyridyl) ruthenium ([Ru(bpy)(3)](2+)) fluorophore was immobilized in the organically modified silicates (ORMOSILs) film and coated onto the fiber surface. When light propagated by total internal reflection (TIR) in the fiber core, evanescent wave could be produced on the fiber surface and excite [Ru(bpy)(3)](2+) fluorophore to produce fluorescence emission. Then oxygen could be determinated by its quenching effect on the fluorescence and its concentration could be evaluated according to Stern-Volumer model. Through integrating evanescent wave excitation and fluorescence quenching on fiber surface, the sensor was successfully miniaturized and exhibit improved performances of high sensitivity (1.4), excellent repeatability (1.2%) and fast analysis (12 s) for oxygen determination. The sensor provided a newly portable method for in-situ and real-time measurement of oxygen and showed potential for practical oxygen analysis in different application fields. Furthermore, the fabrication of this sensor provides a miniaturized and portable detection platform for species monitoring by simple modular design. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.