Highly specific and reversible fluoride sensor based on an organic semiconductor

Anal Chem. 2013 Oct 15;85(20):9968-74. doi: 10.1021/ac4027934. Epub 2013 Oct 1.

Abstract

A novel sulfonamide-conjugated benzo-[2,1-b:3,4-b']bithiophene semiconductor has been designed and synthetized in order to develop a probe for specific detection of anions both in the homogeneous (solution) and heterogeneous phase. Its photophysical and electrochemical data were reported in this study. On the basis of the optical and NMR titrations analysis, the chelator was found to be highly selective for fluoride compared to others anions (Ka = 1.6 × 10(4) M(-1) in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)). In addition, from an intricate sample, the novel chelator shows exceptional specificity toward fluoride and reveals a complete reversibility after addition of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). Sensing films were obtained by electrochemical polymerization of the probe on an electrode surface, which clearly show effective detection of fluoride.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Chemistry Techniques, Analytical / instrumentation*
  • Dimethyl Sulfoxide / chemistry
  • Electrochemistry
  • Fluorides / analysis*
  • Fluorides / chemistry
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Semiconductors*
  • Sulfonamides / chemistry*
  • Thiophenes / chemistry*

Substances

  • Sulfonamides
  • Thiophenes
  • Fluorides
  • Dimethyl Sulfoxide