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Description
Formaldehyde (CH₂O), a toxic, colorless, and flammable gas, is widely used in various industries and household products. Prolonged exposure to formaldehyde poses serious health risks, including irritation of the respiratory tract and an increased risk of cancer. Current formaldehyde detection methods often suffer from limitations such as low sensitivity, high cost, and impracticality for broad adoption in residential and industrial settings. This research explores the development of a novel formaldehyde sensing solution utilizing tapered optical fibers (TOFs) coated with Rhenium Disulfide (ReS₂). The study focuses on fabricating TOFs with precise heating length 3mm and waist diameter (5µm and 10µm) using the heat and pull method and characterizing TOF with ReS₂ coatings. The TOFs performance has been tested by using tunable light source and optical power meter. Experimental evaluations are carried out by exposing the TOFs to formaldehyde vapor at concentrations of 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5% at different relative humidity conditions of 30% to 90%. Results depicted that the 5µm TOF has better stability and sensitivity for formaldehyde sensing as compared to 10µm TOF. Additionally, coating the TOF with Rhenium Disulfide (ReS₂) improved the sensitivity by 60-80%. The optimized sensor achieved the sensitivity of -0.05839 dB/%RH and linearity over 95%. The measurements showed excellent stability when all tested concentrations on both TOFs were maintained for 600 seconds at 90% RH. This proves that it’s demonstrated the precise formaldehyde sensing for environmental sensing applications.
