Terahertz prototype for air pollutants detection

TL;DR

This paper presents a portable terahertz time-domain spectroscopy prototype capable of detecting and quantifying multiple gaseous pollutants, including short-lived substances, in laboratory and field conditions, advancing environmental monitoring technologies.

Contribution

The work introduces a novel portable THz-TDS system for remote detection of gaseous pollutants, including first-time characterization of dichloromethane and chloroform in the THz range.

Findings

Successfully characterized dichloromethane and chloroform in the THz range.

Demonstrated detection and quantification of multi-component gas mixtures.

Proved the prototype's effectiveness in both laboratory and field environments.

Abstract

In this work, we propose a prototype set-up exploiting terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) to investigate gaseous compounds. The system is portable and allows to perform remote measurements. We used the prototype to characterise for the first time in literature over a broad THz range, pure dichloromethane and chloroform, two pollutants known as very short-lived substances (VSLS) that strongly contribute to ozone depletion. The THz range allows selectively detecting their absorption lines related to the rotational molecular motion for which we also present the theoretical confirmation. Then, we investigate the optical response of a multi-component mixture achieved with the two aforementioned chlorine-based compounds mixed with two widely distributed volatile pollutants (acetone and methanol). For these first measurements, we developed the set-up specifically for laboratory condition in which the substances are directly injected into the gas-cell circuit. Finally, we modified the prototype to ensure that the ambient atmosphere is drawn directly into the gas cell via a long pipe and a suction system opportunely developed. The analysis of the mixtures in both laboratory and in-field conditions demonstrates that the prototype together with the approach employed in this work can simultaneously identify and quantify single components in the atmosphere. The results obtained open up new possibilities for the development and applications of an efficient portable THz-based sensor for the remote detection of multi-component environmental contaminants.