Figure-of-Merit Characterization of Hydrogen-Bond Acidic Sorbents for Waveguide-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy
Nathan F. Tyndall, Todd H. Stievater, Dmitry A. Kozak, Marcel W. Pruessner, Brian J. Roxworthy, William S. Rabinovich, Courtney A. Roberts, R. Andrew McGill, Benjamin L. Miller, Ethan P. Luta, Matthew Z. Yates
Abstract
The optical properties of several hydrogen-bond acidic sorbent materials are evaluated in situ to assess their suitability for waveguide-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (WERS) of vapor-phase organophosphonates. A number of characteristics critical to WERS are evaluated for each sorbent: infrared absorption, Raman spectral background, and the limit of detection for a test hydrogen-bond-basic analyte (dimethyl methylphosphonate, DMMP). We describe the chemical properties of the sorbents that differentiate their optical properties for sensing. Then, we introduce a sorbent figure-of-merit that quantifies these differences and provides a framework to assess the quality of newly developed sorbent materials.