A mesoporous silica modified conjugated polymer film: Preparation and detection nitroaromatics in aqueous phase

Abstract

The linear conjugated polymer of polyfluorene/poly(p-phenylenevinylenes) (PFO/PPV) was synthesized and selected as the matrix film. The incorporation of a small fraction of inorganic mesoporous silicas into the polymer matrix resulted in a significant increase in overall detection efficiency of nitroaromatics. The structure of the obtained mixed films was characterized by ¹H-NMR, IR, and XRD. The optical and fluorescence properties of the mixed films were demonstrated by ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra in ethanol/water solution. Compared with the pure conjugated polymer film, the mixed films had high fluorescence quenching sensitivity toward nitroaromatic compounds, especially 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP), in the aqueous phase. The fluorescent emission quenching is quantitative and can be analyzed on the basis of the Stern-Volmer model relation with the quenching process. The results revealed that such mixed matrix films of conjugated polymer/mesoporous silicas can be a promising strategy of designing chemosensory materials for detecting nitroaromatic compounds.

Keywords

nitroaromatic compounds / Heck coupling / fluorescent quenching / aqueous phase