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Title: FY97 report on moisture sensors for enhanced surveillance program project LL-ESP96-13

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/554133· OSTI ID:554133
 [1]; ;
  1. Westinghouse Savannah River Company, AIKEN, SC (United States)

Several compounds were evaluated in a number of optical configurations in order to test the optical response of these compounds to changes in humidity. Reichardt`s betaine (Reichardt`s dye, ET-30 dye, 2,6-diphenyl-4-(2,4,6-triphenyl-N-pyridinio)phenolate), a solvatochromic molecule, and several vapochromic compounds were tested, and each responded to a wide range of humidity by exhibiting shifts in visible absorption. All compounds in the study suffered from some degree of hysteresis upon humidity cycling. It is unclear as to the mechanism for this hysteresis, but future work will attempt to either model or remove the hysteresis effects. In the case of the vapochromic compounds, the hysteresis may be due to structural changes in the crystal lattice of the solid state compound. A prototype sensor configuration was also developed involving an attenuated total reflectance probe. The future of the project will deal with elucidating the hysteresis mechanisms for each compound, evaluating several other vapochromic compounds, and testing different immobilization schemes for the compounds under study. In addition, several other optical technologies will be investigated for application in optical humidity sensing.

Research Organization:
Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC09-96SR18500
OSTI ID:
554133
Report Number(s):
WSRC-RP-97-00888; ON: DE98051373
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 23 Sep 1997
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English