Simple and stable gas–liquid two-phase optical fiber sensor for acetone based on cholesteric liquid crystal

We propose an optical fiber sensor based on cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) for monitoring the concentration of acetone in a gas–liquid two-phase environment. The sensor consists of two optical fiber probes, which can compensate the temperature when detecting the acetone concentration. The results showed that the temperature sensitivity of the two cholesteric liquid crystals are 2.44 nm/°C and 5.08 nm/°C, respectively. In gas-phase and liquid-phase environments, the sensitivities of cholesteric liquid crystals to acetone are 46.95 nm/mmol L −1 and 8.43 nm/%, respectively. In addition, when the temperature fluctuates greatly, the sensor can perform temperature compensation. The proposed sensor has the advantages of small size, simple manufacture and convenient measurement method, providing convenience for the monitoring of acetone leakage in industrial production.