Distributed fiber optic pH sensors using sol-gel silica based sensitive materials

Fiber optic pH sensors using either silica (SiO2) or gold nanoparticle incorporated silica (Au-SiO2) as the sensitive layers for pH monitoring are presented. A facile sol-gel dip-coating process was utilized to immobilize the SiO2 based sensitive layers on the coreless fiber. In the high pH range of similar to 8-12 simulating the wellbore cement conditions, the transmission spectra at room temperature demonstrated notable sensitivity using the SiO2 based coating. The sensitivity was enhanced via either increasing the coating thickness or incorporation of Au nanoparticles. The sensitivity was 19.9 T%/pH for the 1.6 mu m thick SiO2 coating and 13.4 T%/pH for the 600 nm thick Au-SiO2 coating, respectively. And these two sensors revealed good reversibility, and the response times were in the order of 10 s of seconds. No obvious chemical structure changes in SiO2 thin film were observed through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis after the film was exposed to the alkaline media for 30 min. However, the sensing layers were found to become thinner due to corrosion when tested in strong alkaline solutions with the pH up to 14 for 3 days, especially for the pure SiO2 coating. The incorporation of Au nanoparticles was found to stabilize the pH sensing signals and prolong the lifetime of the pH sensitive layer. Importantly, with the coating of SiO2 based sensitive materials, spatially distributed pH sensing was enabled. The intensity of the backscattered light increased with the increasing pH values along the coated segments on the fiber optic sensors.

Automated summary

This study presents fiber optic pH sensors using silica or gold nanoparticle incorporated silica as the sensitive layers. It was found that increasing the coating thickness or incorporating gold nanoparticles can enhance the sensitivity of the sensors. However, the sensors showed poor stability in strong alkaline solutions, leading to potential corrosion issues after testing.