Broad range pH sensor based on sol–gel entrapped indicators on fibre optic

A broad-range fibre optic pH sensor based on evanescent wave absorption is presented in this paper. This sensor is prepared by immobilizing a mixture of three pH sensitive indicators (dyes): cresol red, bromophenol blue and chlorophenol red onto the unclad fibre surface using a sol–gel cladding technology. Triton is introduced into the sol–gel cladding to improve the cladding quality. Smooth and strong sol–gel cladding with entrapped indicators and triton has been fabricated and observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), an energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDX) and an atomic force microscopy (AFM). The pH sensor based the cladding has shown a linear, reversible and repeatable response over a broad range of pH values between 4.5 and 13.0.