This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of a new luminescent oxygen sensor that can be deployed within aircraft fuel tanks. This sensor takes advantage of recent advances in polymeric materials and microchip lasers to produce an oxygen sensing system that is not degraded by fuels or most other organic chemicals. This is not simply an overcoat for existing luminescent probes, but rather a unique new formulation. This sensor will be the first that can be deployed within the tank to make real-time measurements of the oxygen concentration while the airplane is in operation.
This sensor will be capable of measuring oxygen concentrations in chemically harsh environments such as those encountered in fuel tanks. A direct impact of this on society will be safer air travel by eliminating, or significantly reducing the danger of a deadly fuel tank explosion. The key to being able to measure in these chemically harsh environments is the use of Teflon AF as the matrix material; like other Teflon materials, Teflon AF is virtually immune to chemical degradation. This opens the door for development of a whole host of luminescent sensors that can be deployed in chemically harsh environments including the measurement of water in fuels and alcohols, and the measurement of carbon dioxide in chemical processors.
