Optical sensor based on polymer electrospun nanofibers for sensing humidity

Abstract

A novel humidity sensor based on polymer electrospun nanofibers coating onto an optical fiber is proposed in this work. The coating is composed of poly(acrylic acid), and its fabrication was performed by the electrospinning technique using an optical fiber core as substrate. This technique allows the fabrication of sensitive films with high surface area in a fast and simple way compared to other overlay fabrication techniques. The sensor was tested in a programmable temperature and humidity climatic chamber. Relative Humidity (RH) was varied in the range from 20%RH to 80%RH at room temperature. The results showed a monotonic variation of the absorbance spectra to RH changes, thus obtaining a successful humidity sensor. © 2011 IEEE.