METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETECTING FORMALDEHYDE

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of measuring directly formaldehyde, with sensitivity and selectivity of liquid chromatography, and with convenient simplicity equivalent to a detector tube that is a method of detecting analyte gas and measuring a concentration thereof based on a change level of an optical characteristic caused by a reaction when sucking a gas specimen. SOLUTION: In this method of detecting formaldehyde, using an optical waveguide, a thin film containing a detecting reagent colored or getting luminescent by a reaction with the formaldehyde is applied onto a transparent substrate, the whole of the transparent substrate and the thin film of the detecting reagent is functioned thereafter as the optical waveguide, the thin film on the transparent substrate is further exposed to the gas specimen containing the formaldehyde, then light from a light source is introduced in cross sections of the transparent substrate and the thin film at an angle satisfying a waveguide condition, and a propagation loss due to light absorption or a light emitting characteristic of a reaction product of the detecting reagent and the formaldehyde in the thin film is detected to detect a concentration of the formaldehyde in the gas. COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT