A Cyanine Dye Encapsulated Porous Fibrous Mat for Naked-Eye Ammonia Sensing

Chendong Ji; Lijing Ma; Meizhen Yin; Wantai Yang; Kai Pan

doi:10.1002/asia.201600818

A Cyanine Dye Encapsulated Porous Fibrous Mat for Naked-Eye Ammonia Sensing

Chem Asian J. 2016 Aug 19;11(16):2316-21. doi: 10.1002/asia.201600818. Epub 2016 Aug 3.

Authors

Chendong Ji¹, Lijing Ma¹, Meizhen Yin², Wantai Yang¹, Kai Pan³

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Key Laboratory of Carbon Fiber and Functional Polymers of Ministry of Education, Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Key Laboratory of Carbon Fiber and Functional Polymers of Ministry of Education, Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China. yinmz@mail.buct.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Key Laboratory of Carbon Fiber and Functional Polymers of Ministry of Education, Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China. pankai@mail.buct.edu.cn.

PMID: 27411059
DOI: 10.1002/asia.201600818

Abstract

Electrospun ultrathin fiber-based sensors are desirable because of their practicality and sensitivity. Ammonia-detection systems are in high demand in different areas, including the industrial and agricultural fields. However, current technologies rely on large and complex instruments that restrict their actual utilization. Herein, we report a flexible naked-eye ammonia sensor, the polylactic acid-cyanine (PLA-Cy) fibrous mat, which was fabricated by blending a carboxyl-functionalized cyanine dye (D1) into electospun PLA porous fibers. The sensing mat was shown to undergo a naked-eye-detectable color change from white to blue upon exposure to ammonia vapor. The mat showed high selectivity to ammonia gas with a detection limit of 3.3 ppm. Aggregated D1 was first encapsulated by PLA and was then ionized by NH3 . These mechanisms were examined by photophysical studies and scanning electron microscopy. The aggregation-deaggregation process of D1 in the PLA-Cy fibrous mat led to the color change. This work provides a facile method for the naked-eye detection of ammonia and a novel strategy for the use of organic dyes in ammonia sensing.

Keywords: cyanines; dyes/pigments; electrospinning; fibrous mats; sensors.