Detection of pure chemical vapors in a thermally cycled porous silica photonic crystal.

The condensation and evaporation of vapors of isopropanol, heptane, and cyclohexane in mesoporous silica photonic crystals are monitored by optical reflection spectroscopy as a function of sensor temperature. The spectral position of the stop band shifts to the red upon analyte adsorption, and it shifts to the blue as the sensor is heated and analyte evaporates from the porous nanostructure. The hysteresis of the optical response as the temperature of the sensor is cycled between 25 and 80 °C is characteristic of each analyte for partial pressures between 0 and 7.5 Torr. These characteristic hysteresis loops allow identification of the three analytes. The temporal response of the sensor is studied as a function of heating rate and analyte concentration in a flowing stream of analyte vapor, and it is compared with the equilibrium adsorption isotherms of the sensor. The ability of the temporal data to identify the analytes is attributed to differences in diffusion and adsorption properties of each analyte within the mesoporous silica sensor.