Optical chemical sensor for oil-filled power transformer

Preliminary results of feasibility assessment of an optical Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) based sensor, exploiting a Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) platform, for an early and high sensitivity detection of chemical agents of interest are reported. In this investigation, a Molecularly Imprinted Polymer (MIP) has been used as an artificial receptor in connection with SPR transduction in POF for the selective detection of small molecules in oil-filled power transformer. The proposed device has been experimentally tested for the detection of furfural (furan-2-carbaldehyde), so that the MIP is specific for this substance. This particular kind of synthetic receptor has been used instead of the most usual bio-receptors, in view of the fact that the sample matrix here considered is the transformer oil. Actually, it is widely recognized that bio-receptors poorly perform in non aqueous media.