A novel chemical measurement method based on reaction heat-induced optical beam deflection

The principle, instrumentation, and applications of a novel chemical measurement method based on reaction heat-induced optical beam deflection (OBD) have been discussed in detail. A theoretical equation that describes reaction heat-induced OBD for a very fast reaction (impulse reaction) is first derived by considering the thermal diffusion process. For a slow chemical reaction, its reaction heat-induced OBD signal is treated with the concept of convolution. The neutralization reaction is used as a model fast reaction for verification of the derived theoretical equation and investigation of the basic experimental conditions. It has been demonstrated that the magnitude of reaction heat-induced OBD is proportional to the amount of reactant, and the reaction rate can be deduced by analyzing the time decay curve of the reaction heat-induced OBD signal. Applications of the method to redox reaction and enzyme reaction systems have also been investigated. Furthermore, real time one dimensional imaging detection for reaction heat-induced OBD is also demonstrated. Further development and applications of the method are also discussed.