Fiber optic sensors based on hybrid phenyl-silica xerogel films to detect n-hexane: determination of the isosteric enthalpy of adsorption

• Jesús C. Echeverría,
• Ignacio Calleja,
• Paula Moriones and
• Julián J. Garrido

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 475–484, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.51

• pressure and condensation of the adsorbate on the mesopores was dominant at higher relative pressure. Keywords: fiber optic sensors; isosteric enthalpy of adsorption; n-hexane; phenyl-silica; xerogel films; Introduction Fiber optic chemical sensors (FOCSs) that employ sensitive films for the detection of

• ]. Some advantages of FOCSs over electrical methods are immunity to electromagnetic interference and safety while working with flammable and explosive compounds. Although the xerogel films prepared by the sol–gel method are often considered chemically inert, the films and analytes can interact by one or

• , it loses translational entropy. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of temperature on the sensitivity of hybrid phenyl-silica films to n-hexane and to determine the variation of the isosteric enthalpy of adsorption. Materials and Methods Optical fibers and preparation of xerogel films