Prospects for the Creation of Domestic Sampling Systems for Monitoring Air Pollution, Operating on the Basis of the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Method

One of the limiting factors in the use of remote gas detectors, which significantly limits the possibilities of the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy method, is the presence of an atmosphere between the indication object and the measuring equipment. This problem can be avoided when designing sampling technical means of chemical reconnaissance and control. The aim of this work is to assess the prospects for the development, on the domestic element base, of sampling technical means of chemical control – gas detectors, operating on the basis of the FTIR spectroscopy. Portable devices with an «all-in-one» design were considered as prototypes. They allow to detect and identify pollutants directly at the place of application, without additional sample preparation and analysis of the indication object. The substantiation of the technical design of promising sampling technical means for the express monitoring of air contamination made it possible to propose a basic optical scheme of the base unit of the proposed technical means, in which radiation from an infrared emitter, equipped with projection optics, enters a multi-pass gas cuvette. After passing a given number of rereflections, the radiation leaves the cell and enters the interferometer. After modulation in the interferometer, the radiation is distributed through an interference light filter to two photodetectors. The predicted sensitivity of the proposed technical tool for vapors of toxic chemicals (10 -4 –10 -5 mg/liter) predetermines the possibility of its use as a portable tool for express gas analysis as part of mobile diagnostic teams and mobile complexes for monitoring NBC contamination