Recent investigations indicated that same concentrations of the ionic silver have harmful effects on aquatic life, bacteria and human cells. Herein we report chemosensory properties of N,N ' -Bis(4-{2-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy] eth- oxy}phenyl) -3,4:9,10-perylene tetracarboxydiimide (PERKAT) towards ionic silver. The dye doped sensing agents were prepared utilizing ethyl cellulose (EC) and poly (methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) and then forwarded to electrospinning to prepare sensing fibers or mats. The PERKAT exhibited bright emission in embedded forms in EC or in the solvents of N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF), Dichloromethane (DCM), Tetrahydrofurane (THF) and in the mixture of DCM/ethanol. The PERKAT exhibited selective and linear response for ionic silver in the concentration range of 10-10 - 10-5 M Ag (I) at pH 5.5. Detection limits were found to be 2.6 × 10-10 and 4.3 × 10-11 M, in solution phase studies and PERKAT doped sensing films, respectively. Cross sensitivity of the PERKAT towards pH and some metal ions was also studied. There were no response for the Li+, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Ba2+, Mg2+, NH4+, Ni2+, Co2+, Cu2+,Pb2+, Al3+, Cr3+,Mn2+, Sn2+, Hg+, Hg2+, Fe2+ and Fe3+ in buffered solutions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating silver sensing abilities of the PERKAT.
Keywords: Ag (I); Electrospinning; Fluorescence; Polyoxy perylenediimide; Sensor.