Fiber Optic based Localized SPR for Nutrients Detection in Modern Agricultural Applications

Irfan Mohd Hanafi; Nur Hidayah Azeman; Mohd Hafiz Abu Bakar; Nur Afifah Ahmad Nazri; Rozita Sulaiman; Ahmad Ashrif A Bakar

doi:10.53655/joe.m7941u

Authors

Irfan Mohd Hanafi Department of Electrical, Electronic & Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Nur Hidayah Azeman Department of Electrical, Electronic & Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5799-143X
Mohd Hafiz Abu Bakar Department of Electrical, Electronic & Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1035-1042
Nur Afifah Ahmad Nazri Department of Electrical, Electronic & Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Rozita Sulaiman Department of Electrical, Electronic & Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3993-5324
Ahmad Ashrif A Bakar Department of Electrical, Electronic & Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53655/joe.m7941u

Keywords:

Optical fiber, Optical sensors, Nutrients, Soils

Abstract

Detection of nutrients in the hydroponics system, particularly nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) are critical to ensure the good production of crops. Currently, nutrients are analyzed using spectroscopy and electrochemical techniques, which are tedious and sophisticated. This study was conducted to develop a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) fiber optic sensor technique to measure how much content of these nutrients should be added in the soil to increase crop fertility. The main objectives of this study are to study the LSPR fiber sensor technology on NPK in hydroponic systems, to create a fiber optic sensor technique for measuring NPK in hydroponic systems, and finally to characterize the performance of fiber optic sensors for measuring NPK in hydroponic systems. The utilization of the sensing materials, chitosan in this work is to improve the sensitivity feature of the sensor. Chitosan is coated on the surface of the tapered optical fiber prior to the LSPR NPK detection. The results of the absorption spectra will be visible at the end of the experiment where the obtained data are analyzed using SpectraSuite software. The results show that a good linearity was obtained when used AgNP/chitosan as the sensing material with the sensitivity of 0.041 nm ppm^-1in comparison to that of AgNP with the sensitivity of 0.039 nm ppm^-1. A better limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) was also observed for AgNP/chitosan which are 35.61 ppm and 107.91 ppm, respectively. Meanwhile, AgNP exhibits LOD and LOQ of 106.16 ppm and 494.43 ppm, respectively. It is expected that this work will be a good contributor to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG), No. 2: Zero Hunger.

Author Biography

Nur Hidayah Azeman, Department of Electrical, Electronic & Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

NUR HIDAYAH AZEMAN received the B.Sc. degree in resource chemistry from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, in 2009, the master’s degree in environment and the Ph.D. degree in smart sensing materials from Universiti Putra Malaysia, in 2012 and 2017, respectively. She is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Her project focusing on the designing and synthesizing the sensing materials for the optical sensors’ application. Her research interests include functional materials, chemical sensors, optical sensors, and its applications. In 2020, she has been awarded a travel grant to the Commonwealth Chemistry Congress by the Royal Society of Chemistry, United Kingdom, and Institut Kimia Malaysia.

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