Supramolecular fluorescence sensor for liquefied petroleum gas

Sensing systems of nonpolar gas molecules without functional groups such as natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) remain difficult to develop because of lacking selective detection of such molecules over other gas molecules. Here we report a supramolecular fluorescence sensor for LPG using a...

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Published inCommunications chemistry Vol. 2; no. 1
Main Authors Zhan, Yi-Yang, Liao, Jingyuan, Kajita, Mizuho, Kojima, Tatsuo, Takahashi, Satoshi, Takaya, Tomohisa, Iwata, Koichi, Hiraoka, Shuichi
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group UK 13.09.2019
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects
639/638/541/965
639/638/541/966
Alkanes
Aromatic compounds
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Chemistry/Food Science
Encapsulation
Fluorescence
Functional groups
Gas sensors
Liquefied natural gas
Liquefied petroleum gas
LPG
Nonpolar gases
Response time
Room temperature
Selectivity
Self-assembly
Sensitivity
Sensors
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Summary:Sensing systems of nonpolar gas molecules without functional groups such as natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) remain difficult to develop because of lacking selective detection of such molecules over other gas molecules. Here we report a supramolecular fluorescence sensor for LPG using a 2-nm-sized cube-shaped molecular container i.e. a nanocube self-assembled from six molecules of gear-shaped amphiphiles (GSA) in water. The nanocube selectively encapsulates LPG, while it does not bind other gas molecules. Upon encapsulation of LPG in the nanocube, the fluorescence from the nanocube is enhanced by 3.9 times, which is caused by the restricted motion of the aromatic rings of GSA in the nanocube based on aggregation-induced emission. Besides the high selectivity, high sensitivity, quick response, high stability of the nanocube for LPG, and easy preparation of GSA satisfy the requirement for its practical use for an LPG sensor. Sensing dilute hydrocarbons such as liquefied petroleum gas presents challenges for selectivity and sensitivity. Here a cube-shaped assembly of amphiphiles selectively exhibits fluorescence in the presence of alkanes in water at room temperature, with a response time on the order of seconds.
ISSN:2399-3669
2399-3669
DOI:10.1038/s42004-019-0212-6