Dissolved oxygen sensing based on fluorescence quenching of ceria nanoparticles

Abstract

The development of oxygen sensors has positively impacted the fields of medical science, bioengineering, environmental monitoring, solar cells, industrial process control, and a number of military applications. Fluorescent quenching sensors have an inherent high sensitivity, chemical selectivity, and stability when compared to other types of sensors. While cerium oxide thin films have been used to monitor oxygen in the gas phase, the potential of cerium oxide (ceria) nanoparticles as the active material in sensor for oxygen gas has only recently been investigated. Ceria nanoparticles are one of the most unique nanomaterials that are being studied today due to the diffusion and reactivity of its oxygen vacancies, which contributes to its high oxygen storage capability. The reactivity of the oxygen vacancies, which is also related to conversion of cerium ion from the Ce⁺⁴ to Ce⁺³ state, affects the fluorescence properties of the ceria nanoparticles. Our research demonstrates that the ceria nanoparticles (~7 nm in diameter) have application as a fluorescence quenching sensor to measure dissolved oxygen in water. We have found a strong inverse correlation between the amplitude of the fluorescence emission (λ_excitation = 430 nm and λ_peak = 520 nm) and the dissolved oxygen concentration between 5 – 13 mg/L. The Stern-Volmer constant, which is an indication of the sensitivity of gas sensing is 184 M^-1 for the ceria nanoparticles. The results show that ceria nanoparticles can be used in an improved, robust fluorescence sensor for dissolved oxygen in a liquid medium.