Holographically sensing of volatile organic compounds using cellulose acetate-based photopolymer film

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are recognized as significant environment pollutants, necessitating the development of rapid sensing methods characterized by ease of fabrication, low cost, and reusability. This demand is prevalent across various industries and laboratories. Several types of sensors, such as electrochemical sensors, semiconductor sensors, catalytic combustion sensors, and optical fiber-based sensors, have been reported for VOC detection. However, most of these sensors have a complex fabrication process and/or slow response time, which limits their applications. To overcome these limitations, the present work introduces a novel particle-free cellulose acetate-based photopolymer sensor film for the first time for VOC detection. The sensing performance of the film was evaluated by determining the diffraction efficiency of a holographically recorded transmission grating. A diffraction efficiency of 70% was achieved for the pristine film. Upon exposure to VOCs, the diffraction efficiency decreased by 29.52% for acetone, 12.09% for isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and 15.90% for tetrahydrofuran (THF) with a response time of 99 sec., 202 sec., and 170 sec., respectively. The sensor exhibited full recovery for multiple cycles. The proposed particle-free composition of the sensor film responds better than the nanoparticle-based sensor films.