A fiber-optic sensor to detect volatile organic compounds based on a porous silica xerogel film

► This fiber-optic sensor uses a film of a porous silica xerogel as the sensing element toward VOCs. ► The VOCs included cover a wide range of compounds with different functional groups and polarities. ► The sensor response in the presence of VOCs has been performed under static volumetric conditions. ► The highest sensitivity was obtained for 2-propanol, toluene and 1-butylamine. ► Limits of detection varied between 9.1×10−5 M for 1-butylamine and 1.6×10−3 M for ethanol.