Evaluation of air acidity through optical sensors.

Optical sensors developed from dye-doped coatings obtained through the sol-gel method were designed and produced to evaluate air acidity. Both laboratory calibration and field test measurements in several locales of downtown Cracow, Poland, were undertaken with the aim of assessing the sensors' behavior. As a first approach, SO2 was considered as the main gaseous pollutant with acid properties capable of sensitizing the sensors under humid conditions. A relationship between the SO2 concentration measured by conventional automatic air pollution monitoring stations and the optical response of the sensors was established. To correlate such a relationship with the air acidity, a simple calculation, which also takes into account relative humidity, temperature, and atmospheric pressure, was done. Following this calculation, the sensors' detection threshold for pH was found to be 0.05, approximately. The sensors can be a very useful analytical tool to alert against acid rain risks in preventive conservation of historical materials, among other applications.