OZONE DETECTION BY CRACK-INDUCED OPACITY IN RUBBER

Initially transparent polybutadiene develops micron-sized surface cracks when stretched and exposed to ozone. The consequent reduction in the transparency of the rubber provides a facile method for quantifying the ambient ozone concentration. The rate at which opacity develops is linearly dependent on the amount of ozone, and increases with increasing strain. This method of detecting atmospheric ozone has high sensitivity (1 ppb), abroad dynamic range, and is unaffected by the presence of other chemicals. The surface morphology of exposed material can be interpreted in terms of crack nucleation and growth.