2024-04-10 08:14:00
A new method could be used to analyze air quality more easily in the future. The method, which makes it easier to measure pollutants such as formaldehyde, was developed at the Graz University of Technology. With the world’s first, so-called broadband UV dual-comb spectrometer, air pollutants can be continuously measured and their reaction with the environment can be observed in real time, as the TU announced on Wednesday.
The composition of the atmosphere and the processes in it have a major impact on our environment and our climate. For example, when the high-energy UV radiation from sunlight hits gas molecules, it stimulates them electronically and causes them to rotate and vibrate. These so-called rovibronic transitions are unique for each gaseous substance. Birgitta Schultze-Bernhardt’s research team from the Institute for Experimental Physics at Graz University of Technology is now taking advantage of this high reaction potential for a new method of environmental monitoring.
The spectrometer developed by the Graz TU group is based on a laser system that emits double light pulses in the ultraviolet spectrum. In addition, the broadband UV dual-comb spectrometer combines three other properties: A large bandwidth of the emitted UV light, which means a lot of information about the optical properties of the gas samples can be collected with a single measurement. Secondly, a high spectral resolution, which should also enable the investigation of complex gas mixtures such as our Earth’s atmosphere in the future. The chemical reaction triggered by light is also typically incredibly fast. More precisely, in a millionth of a billionth of a second. For the new spectrometer, the light pulses can be set as ultra-short as needed and maintained over a longer period of time, making longer measurements possible. “This makes our spectrometer suitable for sensitive measurements with which changes in gas concentrations and the course of chemical reactions can be observed very precisely,” said Lukas Fürst, from the “Coherent Sensing” working group and first author of the publication in the specialist magazine “Optica”. .
The team developed and tested the spectrometer using formaldehyde. The air pollutant is created when fossil fuels and wood are burned indoors, for example through fumes from adhesives in furniture. “With our new spectrometer, formaldehyde emissions in the textile or wood processing industry or in cities with increased smog levels can be monitored in real time, thus improving the protection of personnel and the environment,” emphasized the Graz experimental physicist.
The spectrometer can also be expanded to measure other air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and ozone and other climate-relevant trace gases. The research team hopes that this will provide new insights into their effects in the atmosphere and provide opportunities for environmental research. Based on this, new strategies for improving air quality could be derived.
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