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Internship: Building an near infra-red (NIR) optical setup to identify electrolytes
Location:
Wetsus, Leeuwarden
Duration:
Between 3 – 9 months
Salary:
350,- / month
Start date:
Feb, 2015 – Mar, 2015
Introduction:
Inorganic ions can be identified using absorbance based
measurements with UV light. A relative new way is to identify them using NIR light. This light
can probe the overtones of OH bonds. These bonds are influence by ions and thus ions can
indirectly be probed by NIR light (see Figure 1).
Abs. [OD] 
0.2
0.15
Demi-water
0.5M AlCl3 in demi-water
0.1
0.05
0
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
Wavelength [nm] 
Figure 1 – Absorbance spectrum of water and an electrolyte (0.5 M AlCl3).
Task description: You will work in the optical lab within the multidisciplinary institute Wetsus.
There you will build an optical setup to measure interaction of inorganic ions on water
molecules. Figure 2 shows two potential capable setups.
Figure 2 – Two potential setups to measure directly delta absorbance spectrum. Option 1 electronically subtracts the
electrolyte spectrum with the demi-water spectrum, while option 2 optically subtracts the electrolyte spectrum with the
demi-water spectrum. To control the phase in one path of the Mach-Zehnder the optical path can be changed or the
temperature difference between the two fluidics.
Profile: You are a bachelor/master student with a background in optics or a strong affinity
with optics. You should have adequate English communication skills (oral and written) and
have some experimental experience. Most important you are highly motivated.
If you are interested in this assignment or if you have any question, please feel free to
contact me: [email protected] / [email protected]