Simultaneous Visualization of Hydrogen Peroxide and Water Concentrations Using Photofragmentation Laser-Induced Fluorescence.

A concept based on photofragmentation laser-induced fluorescence (PFLIF) is for the first time demonstrated for simultaneous detection of hydrogen peroxide (HO) and water (HO) vapor in various mixtures containing the two constituents in a bath of argon gas. A photolysis laser pulse at 248 nm dissociates HO into OH fragments, whereupon a probe pulse, delayed 100 ns and tuned to an absorption line in the AΣ (v = 1) ← XΠ(v = 0) band of OH near 282 nm, induces fluorescence. The total OH fluorescence reflects the HO concentration, while its spectral shape is utilized to determine the HO concentration via a model predicting the ratio between the fluorescence intensities of the AΣ (v = 1) → XΠ(v = 1) and the AΣ (v = 0) → XΠ(v = 0) bands. The HO detection scheme requires that the bath gas has a collisional cross-section with OH(A) that is significantly lower than that of HO, which is the case for argon. Spectrally dispersed OH fluorescence spectra were recorded for five different HO/HO/Ar mixtures; the HO concentration in the range of 30-500 ppm and the HO concentration in the range of 0-3%. Fluorescence intensity ratios predicted by the model for these mixtures agree very well with corresponding experimental data, which thus validates the model. The concept was also demonstrated for two-dimensional imaging, using two intensified charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras for signal detection. Water content was here sensed through the different temporal characteristics of the two fluorescence bands by triggering the two cameras so that one captures the total OH fluorescence while the other one captures only the early part, which mainly stems from AΣ (v = 1) → XΠ(v = 1) fluorescence. Hence, the HO concentration is reflected by the image of the camera recording the total OH fluorescence, whereas HO concentration is extracted from the ratio between the two camera images. Quantification of the concentrations was carried out based on calibration measurements performed in known mixtures of HO (30-500 ppm) and HO (0-3%) in bulk argon. The detection limits for single-shot imaging are estimated to be 20 ppm for HO and 0.05% for HO. The authors believe that the concept provides a valuable asset in, for example, pharmaceutical or aseptic food packaging applications, where HO/HO vapor is routinely used for sterilization.