Abstract
Fluorescence sensors based on a trifluoroacetophone compound doped in ethyl cellulose (EC) thin films have been developed for the detection of methanol, ethanol, and 2-propanol (isopropanol, PriOH) vapors. Thin-film sensors are prepared with 4-dibutylamino-4’-(trifluoroacetyl)stilbene (Chromoionophore IX or CIX) as the fluorescent dye and its solution in EC was spin-coated onto glass slides. The luminescence intensity of the dye (555 nm) is quenched when exposed to alcohol vapor. Tested in the range of ca. 0 - 1.5 × 104 ppm (wt) for MeOH and EtOH, and ca. 0 - 2.3 × 104 ppm for PriOH, the sensors gave detection limits of 9, 13, 21 ppm and quantification limits of 32, 43, and 70 ppm, respectively. To enhance the sensitivity of the sensors, TiO2 particles have been added to the films to induce Mie scattering, which increases the incident light interaction with the sensing films. The sensors in this work have been designed to work in a multianalyte platform for the simultaneous detection of multiple gas analytes.
Highlights
Alcohol vapor detection is an area of intense interest
The current study looks into a new method centered on a fluorescence based system for the detection of alcohol and provides an improvement over existing alcohol sensors by limiting the possible interferences that may affect a reading such as chemicals or dry conditions
The Chromoionophore IX (CIX) dye was incorporated into ethyl cellulose (EC) films in order to detect alcohol vapors
Summary
Alcohol vapor detection is an area of intense interest. Since fossil fuels are not a renewable source of energy, the need for promising alternatives such as alcohol has steadily increased in demand. A variety of commercial products used to detect ethanol vapors, those used in breathalyzers for blood alcohol content (BAC), are based mainly on three different techniques: infrared (IR) spectroscopy, semiconductor metal oxides, and electrochemical fuel cells [10]-[12]. We have adapted and developed sensors based on the fluorescence of CIX for the detection of methanol, ethanol, and 2-propanolin the gas phase. With the goal of detecting various alcohols in the gas phase, optical sensors were developed using an ethyl cellulose (EC) thin-film matrix to encapsulate the dye in our studies. Their preparation has been optimized to produce sensitive sensors for alcohol vapors. The studies here follow our earlier work in the development of optical sensors for chemicals in both liquid and gas phases [35]-[39]
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