Chemistry Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Abstract
A 2,6-bis(2-benzimidazolyl) pyridine-linked silsesquioxane-based semi-branched polymer was synthesized, and its photophysical and metal-sensing properties have been investigated. The polymer is thermally stable up to 285 °C and emits blue in both solid and solution state. The emission of the polymer is sensitive to pH and is gradually decreased and quenched upon protonation of the linkers. The initial emission color is recoverable upon deprotonation with triethylamine. The polymer also shows unique spectroscopic properties in both absorption and emission upon long-term UV irradiation, with red-shifted absorption and emission not present in a simple blended system of phenylsilsesquioxane and linker, suggesting that a long-lived energy transfer or charge separated state is present. In addition, the polymer acts as a fluorescence shift sensor for Zn(II) ions, with red shifts observed from 464 to 528 nm, and reversible binding by the introduction of a competitive ligand such as tetrahydrofuran. The ion sensing mechanism can differentiate Zn(II) from Cd(II) by fluorescence color shifts, which is unique because they are in the same group of the periodic table and possess similar chemical properties. Finally, the polymer system embedded in a paper strip acts as a fluorescent chemosensor for Zn(II) ions in solution, showing its potential as a solid phase ion extractor.
Copyright Statement
Publisher PDF
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Repository Citation
Lenora, Chamika U.; Hu, Nai-Hsuan; and Furgal, Joseph C., "Thermally Stable Fluorogenic Zn(II) Sensor Based on a Bis(benzimidazole)pyridine-Linked Phenyl-Silsesquioxane Polymer" (2020). Chemistry Faculty Publications. 189.
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/chem_pub/189
Publication Date
12-16-2020
Publication Title
ACS Omega
Publisher
ACS Publications
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.0c04366
Volume
5
Issue
51
Start Page No.
33017
End Page No.
33027