Priority substances likely to pollute water can be characterized by mid-infrared spectroscopy based on their specific absorption spectral signature. In this work, the detection of volatile aromatic molecules in the aqueous phase by evanescent-wave spectroscopy has been optimized to improve the detection efficiency of future in situ optical sensors based on chalcogenide waveguides. To this end, a hydrophobic polymer was deposited on the surface of a zinc selenide prism using drop and spin-coating methods. To ensure that the water absorption bands will be properly attenuated for the selenide waveguides, two polymers were selected and compared: polyisobutylene and ethylene/propylene copolymer coating. The system was tested with benzene, toluene, and ortho-, meta-, and para-xylenes at concentrations ranging from 10 ppb to 40 ppm, and the measured detection limit was determined to be equal to 250 ppb under these analytical conditions using ATR-FTIR. The polyisobutylene membrane is promising for pollutant detection in real waters due to the reproducibility of its deposition on selenide materials, the ease of regeneration, the short response time, and the low ppb detection limit, which could be achieved with the infrared photonic microsensor based on chalcogenide materials. To improve the sensitivity of future infrared microsensors, the use of metallic nanostructures on the surface of chalcogenide waveguides appears to be a relevant way, thanks to the plasmon resonance phenomena. Thus, in addition to preliminary surface-enhanced infrared absorption tests using these materials and a functionalization via a self-assembled monolayer of 4-nitrothiophenol, heterostructures combining gold nanoparticles/chalcogenide waveguides have been successfully fabricated with the aim of proposing a SEIRA microsensor device.

BRGM Direction Eau Environnement et Ecotechnologies Unité Bio Géochimie environnementale et qualité de l'Eau 45060Orléans France

Department of Graphic Arts and Photophysics Faculty of Chemical Technology University of Pardubice Studentska 573 53210Pardubice Czech Republic

IFREMER Laboratoire Détection Capteurs et Mesures 29280Plouzané France

Institut Fresnel Marseille Université Aix Marseille CNRS 13397Marseille France

Laboratoire Lumière nanomatériaux et nanotechnologies CNRS ERL 7004 Université de Technologie de Troyes 10004Troyes France

Univ Rennes 1 CNRS Institut Foton UMR 6082 F 22305Lannion France

Univ Rennes 1 CNRS ISCR UMR6226 F 35000Rennes France

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