In a first approach, perchloroethylene (C₂Cl₄ or 'PER') was determined quantitatively in air by monitoring mass and temperature changes of polymer-coated quartz microbalance and calorimetric transducers. The different equilibrium and time-dependent sensor responses result from reversible interactions between perchloroethylene molecules from the gas phase and chemically sensitive polymers based upon modified siloxanes. In a second approach, we determined PER by applying pattern recognition methods to evaluate data from catalyst/electrochemical sensor-systems. Here, PER is decomposed at a heated catalytic filament. The molecular fragments are detected subsequently by an electrochemical or semiconductor gas sensor. The quantitative determination of perchloroethylene in air in the ppm-range is possible by applying mathematical procedures of pattern recognition. Finally, a comparative discussion of the different transducer and evaluation principles is given for specific applications.

Date Published: 9 March 1993
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 1716, International Conference on Monitoring of Toxic Chemicals and Biomarkers, (9 March 1993); doi: 10.1117/12.140263

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1716:
International Conference on Monitoring of Toxic Chemicals and Biomarkers
Tuan Vo-Dinh; Karl Cammann, Editor(s)