A four-wavelength channel absorbance detector with a light emitting diode-fiber optics assembly for simplifying the flow-injection analysis system.

A four-channel absorbance detector was developed for simplifying the flow-injection analysis (FIA). This detector used four light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) as light sources; their wavelengths were 470, 495, 590 and 635 nm, respectively. Their amplitudes were modulated electronically with different frequencies. The light emissions from them were merged by plastic-core fiber optics, and were detected by a photo-diode (PD). The mixed signal was then sent to and discriminated by a four-channel lock-in amplifier corresponding to each modulation frequency. Neither a monochromator nor an optical filter was used. This detector was conveniently applied to the determination of iron in river water by FIA using 1,10-phenanthroline. Though a noisy peristaltic pump was used to propel the solutions, practical precision and accuracy were obtained by means of on-line dual-wavelength measurements and off-line moving average calculations.