Separation and Detection of Hydrocarbons and Gasoline in Automotive Engine Oil Using a Teflon® AF2400-coated Gold-deposited Surface Plasmon Resonance-based Glass Rod Sensor

A gold (Au)-deposited surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based glass rod sensor that is coated with an α-mercaptoethyl-ω-methoxy polyoxyethylene (PEG thiol) layer (approximately 13 nm thick) and a Teflon AF2400 overlayer (12 μm thick) was used to detect the hydrocarbon and gasoline contents of automotive engine oil. Hydrocarbons and gasoline present in the engine oil penetrate through the porous Teflon layer and accumulate in the PEG thiol layer, and are then detected using the SPR sensor. The refractivities of the selective layers that contain a hydrocarbon on the Au-deposited glass rod sensor were estimated from the sensor responses when using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with various operating wavelengths as light sources. Gasoline concentrations up to 10%, w/w in commercial engine oil can be measured directly using this sensor when it is coated with the selective layers. The responses of an SPR-based optical waveguide sensing system using Au films coated with identical selective layers were also measured. The results demonstrate the value of the Au-deposited SPR glass rod sensor coated with the selective layers for the detection of the gasoline content and fuel dilution of automotive engine oil.

Light-emitting diodes for analytical chemistry

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are playing increasingly important roles in analytical chemistry, from the final analysis stage to photoreactors for analyte conversion to actual fabrication of and incorporation in microdevices for analytical use. The extremely fast turn-on/off rates of LEDs have made possible simple approaches to fluorescence lifetime measurement. Although they are increasingly being used as detectors, their wavelength selectivity as detectors has rarely been exploited. From their first proposed use for absorbance measurement in 1970, LEDs have been used in analytical chemistry in too many ways to make a comprehensive review possible. Hence, we critically review here the more recent literature on their use in optical detection and measurement systems. Cloudy as our crystal ball may be, we express our views on the future applications of LEDs in analytical chemistry: The horizon will certainly become wider as LEDs in the deep UV with sufficient intensity become available.