Determination of Volatile Organic Compounds in Water by Attenuated Total Reflection Infrared Spectroscopy and Diamond-Like Carbon Coated Silicon Wafers

Carina Dettenrieder; Dervis Türkmen; Andreas Mattsson; Lars Österlund; Mikael Karlsson; Boris Mizaikoff

doi:10.3390/chemosensors8030075

Chemosensors (Aug 2020)

Determination of Volatile Organic Compounds in Water by Attenuated Total Reflection Infrared Spectroscopy and Diamond-Like Carbon Coated Silicon Wafers

Carina Dettenrieder,
Dervis Türkmen,
Andreas Mattsson,
Lars Österlund,
Mikael Karlsson,
Boris Mizaikoff

Affiliations

Carina Dettenrieder: Institute of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
Dervis Türkmen: Institute of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
Andreas Mattsson: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 534, 75121 Uppsala, Sweden
Lars Österlund: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 534, 75121 Uppsala, Sweden
Mikael Karlsson: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 534, 75121 Uppsala, Sweden
Boris Mizaikoff: Institute of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors8030075
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 8, no. 3
p. 75

Abstract

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Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are one of the most commonly detected contaminants in water. The occurrence is mainly in gasoline and other petroleum-based products, fumigants, paints and plastics. Releases into the environment and the widespread use have an impact on the ecosystem such as humans and animals due to their toxicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity. VOCs may persist in groundwater and may enter drinking water supplies. In this paper, a diamond-like carbon (DLC)-coated silicon waveguide in combination with a polymer film (ethylene/propylene copolymer, E/P-co) for enrichment of analytes was investigated to determine its suitability for ATR-FTIR (attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopic detection of VOCs. The DLC film was fluorine-terminated enhancing the adhesion of the hydrophobic polymer to the waveguide surface. The analytes diffuse into the hydrophobic polymer whereas water is excluded from the emanating evanescent field. Therefore, direct detection in aqueous systems is enabled. Nine VOCs, i.e., ethylbenzene (EB), trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (TeCE), the xylene isomers (p-xylene, pXYL; m-xylene, mXYL; o-xylene, oXYL), naphthalene (NAPH), toluene (TOL), and benzene (BENZ), were evaluated simultaneously qualitatively and quantitatively showing the potential of DLC coatings revealing high sensitivities in the low ppb to ppm concentration range, i.e., 50 ppb for TeCE. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time of IR spectroscopic detection of VOCs in aqueous solutions using DLC-coated waveguides in combination with a hydrophobic polymer. By utilizing a DLC-coated waveguide, a versatile sensor for real-time monitoring in harsh environments such as effluents, leaking pipelines, and underground storage tanks is feasible due to response times within a few minutes.

Published in Chemosensors

ISSN: 2227-9040 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry: Organic chemistry: Biochemistry
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/chemosensors

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