Portable, low-cost, Raspberry Pi-based optical sensor (PiSENS): continuous monitoring of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide

Anal Methods. 2023 Jan 26;15(4):482-491. doi: 10.1039/d2ay01433e.

Abstract

We have developed a sensing system that utilizes a low-cost computer (Raspberry Pi) and its imaging camera as an optical sensing core for the continuous detection of NO2 in the air (PiSENS-A). The sensor is based on colour development as a consequence of the interaction of the gas with an absorbing solution. The PiSENS-A is thoroughly calibrated over the hourly mean which is used as one of the key metrics in evaluating air quality. The calibration was performed in the range of 0 < [NO2] < 476 μg m-3 chosen to contain the threshold used to determine compliance to the UK's Air Quality Standard Regulations (2010) expressed as a maximum of 18 permitted exceedances of [NO2]hourly mean = 200 μg per m3 per year. Lab-based measurements were evaluated against UV-vis. The average precision expressed as a relative standard deviation was: RSD% = 2.8%, while the correlation of mock samples was excellent (Pearson's r = 1.000). Field-based measurements were evaluated against chemiluminescence-based instrument exhibiting a correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.993. The PiSENS-A was also deployed as an independent air quality analyser at the Keele University campus.