Hemtite-Protected Silver for Water Salinity Detection

This paper investigates the use of a Kretschmann configuration Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) sensor with a hematite-protected silver film for detecting saline water. The sensor's performance is compared to a traditional SPR sensor utilizing a bare silver film. Simulation results demonstrate a significant improvement in the SPR signal with the hematite coating, evidenced by sharper and more pronounced resonance dips in the reflectance spectra. This enhancement in dip definition suggests a higher sensitivity and potentially greater accuracy in saline water detection. The study highlights the potential of hematite as a functional coating for enhancing the performance of silver-based SPR sensors, making them promising candidates for applications such as monitoring seawater salinity and detecting contamination in freshwater sources.