Investigations on adsorption-dependent optical thickness changes of molecular sieve zeolite thin films for chemical sensor development

Abstract

Molecular sieve zeolites are capable of selectively adsorbing molecular species into their nanoporous structures. Using whitelight interferometry, the changes in optical thickness of b-oriented MFI zeolite thin films have been measured as a function of organic vapor partial pressure in the surrounding environment. The adsorption induced optical thickness changes of the oriented MFI zeolite films were found to be reversible and monotonically dependent on the organic concentration level. The quantitative results of this study are useful for designing optical fiber-based chemical sensors for in-situ detections.