Porphyrins-based opto-electronic nose for volatile compounds detection

Thin films of different metalloporphyrins have been used as sensing materia ls for the development of optical sensors for the detection of different vo latile organic compounds (VOC). Absorption spectra of thin films showed cha nges after interactions with analytes. The development of a measurement set -up is discussed and the results obtained in the context of some VOC's dete ction an reported. Data have been analyzed considering both stand alone sen sors (looking at the response isotherm and sensitivity comparison) and each sensor as a component of an opto-electronic nose. In this last case the ca pability in distinguishing different volatile compounds and the contributio n of each sensor has been investigated by means of a self organizing map. ( C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.