Functionalization of mesoporous silica membrane with a Schiff base fluorophore for Cu(II) ion sensing

Xiaotong Chen; Akira Yamaguchi; Manato Namekawa; Toshio Kamijo; Norio Teramae; Aijun Tong

doi:10.1016/j.aca.2011.04.002

Functionalization of mesoporous silica membrane with a Schiff base fluorophore for Cu(II) ion sensing

Anal Chim Acta. 2011 Jun 24;696(1-2):94-100. doi: 10.1016/j.aca.2011.04.002. Epub 2011 Apr 14.

Authors

Xiaotong Chen¹, Akira Yamaguchi, Manato Namekawa, Toshio Kamijo, Norio Teramae, Aijun Tong

Affiliation

¹ Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

PMID: 21621037
DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2011.04.002

Abstract

A Schiff base (SB) immobilized hybrid mesoporous silica membrane (SB-HMM) was prepared by immobilizing a Schiff base onto the pore surface of mesoporous silica (pore size=3.1 nm) embedded in the pores of a porous anodic alumina membrane. In contrast to the non-fluorescent analogous SB molecule in homogeneous solutions, SB-HMM exhibited intense fluorescence due to emission enhancement caused by aggregation of SB groups on the pore surface. The high quantum efficiency of the surface SB groups allows SB-HMM to function as a fluorescent sensor for Cu(II) ions in an aqueous solution with good sensitivity, selectivity and reproducibility. Under the optimal conditions described, the linear ranges of fluorescence intensity for Cu(II) are 1.2-13.8(M (R(2)=0.993) and 19.4-60 (R(2)=0.992) (M. The limit of detection for Cu(II) is 0.8 μM on basis of the definition by IUPAC (C(LOD)=3.3S(b)/m).