A sensitive A3B porphyrin nanomaterial for CO2 detection

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 19; no. 12; pp. 21239 - 21252
• Main Authors: Fagadar-Cosma, Eugenia, Vlascici, Dana, Fagadar-Cosma, Gheorghe, Palade, Anca, Lascu, Anca, Creanga, Ionela, Birdeanu, Mihaela, Cristescu, Rodica, Cernica, Ileana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 17.12.2014; MDPI
• Subjects: AFM; asymmetric A3B porphyrins; Carbon Dioxide - analysis; Cellulose; Environmental Monitoring; Gases; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; Morphology; Nanomaterials; Nanostructured materials; Nanostructures - chemistry; Nanostructures - ultrastructure; Nitrogen; Porphyrins - chemistry; self-assembling; sensitivity to CO2; Sensors; Space Flight; Surface Properties; Thin films; UV-vis spectroscopy; Timisoara Romania; Bucharest Romania; Romania
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules191221239

The present report deals with the tailoring, preparation and characterization of novel nanomaterials sensitive to CO2 for use in detection of this gas during space habitation missions. A new nanostructured material based on mixed substituted asymmetrical A3B porphyrin: 5-(4-pyridyl)-10,15,20-tris(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-porphyrin (PyTDMeOPP) was synthesized and characterized by 1H-NMR, FT-IR, UV-vis, fluorescence, MS, HPLC and AFM. Introducing one pyridyl substituent in the 5-meso-position of porphyrin macrocycle confers some degree of hydrophilicity, which may cause self-assembly properties and a better response to increased acidity. The influence of pH and nature of the solvent upon H and J aggregates of the porphyrin are discussed. Porphyrin aggregation at the air-THF interface gave a triangular type morphology, randomly distributed but uniformly oriented. When deposition was made by multiple drop-casting operations, a network of triangles of uniform size was created and a porous structure was obtained, being reorganized finally in rings. When the deposition was made from CHCl3, ring structures ranging in internal diameter from 300 nm to 1 µm, but with the same width of the corona circular of approx. 200 nm were obtained. This porphyrin-based material, capable of generating ring aggregates in both THF and CHCl3, has been proven to be sensitive to CO2 detection. The dependence between the intensity of porphyrin UV-vis absorption and the concentration of CO2 has a good correlation of 98.4%.