An Optical Fiber Sensor for Measuring Light Absorption in Suspension Solutions

An optical fiber sensor based on attenuated total reflectance (ATR) for extraction chemical information from highly scattering turbid materials has been evaluated. The influence of particles on bulk absorption and ATR transmitted spectra of micron-sized graphite flakes and spherical glassy carbon suspensions were investigated. The ATR transmitted spectra of coiled fiber-optic sensor in those suspensions with various concentrations are insensitive to scattering of suspended particles, especially for graphite flake suspensions. The reason for different influence of graphite flakes and spherical glassy carbon particles suspensions on e ATR spectra analyzed. This study demonstrates that fiber-optic sensor based on ATR technique is a feasible technique in application for monitoring turbid suspensions.