Disposable, visual and cost-effective PMMA sensor for UVC radiation

Abstract

A simple, one-pot procedure was applied to fabricate disposable visual sensors with a fast response to UVC radiation. The sensors were made of methylene blue (MB) or rhodamine B (RhB) dyes doped poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA), and the produced homogenous solutions were casted in the dark to produce cheerful colored thin films. The colors of the dyes in the casted films were found to be highly discharged upon exposure to UVC radiation (λ = 254 nm). The color change of the dyes was monitored by UV-vis spectroscopy. The color of MB was found to be discharged faster than RhB, however, the colour change of RhB was clearer to naked eye after two minutes only of exposing to UVC radiation.