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Aquivion–Poly( N ‐vinylcarbazole) Holistic Flory–Huggins Photonic Vapor Sensors
Author(s) -
Megahd Heba,
Oldani Claudio,
Radice Stefano,
Lanfranchi Andrea,
Patrini Maddalena,
Lova Paola,
Comoretto Davide
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced optical materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.89
H-Index - 91
ISSN - 2195-1071
DOI - 10.1002/adom.202002006
Subject(s) - polymer , materials science , solvent , polar , phase (matter) , molecule , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , chemistry , physics , astronomy , engineering , composite material
A holistic detection system, in principle sensitive to any molecular species in the vapor phase is proposed. The sensor consists of a polymeric multilayered distributed Bragg reflector made of a perfluorinated polar polymer, Aquivion, and a nonpolar polymer, poly( N ‐vinylcarbazole). Alternated layers of the two polymers provide a characteristic optical response that depends on the chemical species intercalating within the structure. Such differences arise from Flory–Huggins polymer–solvent interactions. Then, the presence of polar, nonpolar, and perfluorinated moieties in the structures, potentially, allows sensitivity to any molecular species, providing a detection system with no need for any additional chemical receptors. As a proof of concept, the study demonstrates the sensitivity of the sensor to very diverse classes of molecules in the vapor phase including perfluorinated, nonpolar hydrophobic, and hydrophilic species and the capability to distinguish them, even in binary mixtures. Additionally, a connection between the dynamic temporal response of the sensors and the chemical–physical properties of the analytes, their concentration, and effective diffusion coefficient within the polymer structure is revealed.