Abstract
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important green house gas. This is providing an incentive to develop new strategies to detect and capture CO 2. Achieving both functions within a single molecular system represents an unmet challenge in terms of molecular design and could translate into enhanced ease of use. Here, we report an anion-activated chemosensor system, NAP-chol 1, that permits dissolved CO2 to be detected in organic media via simple color changes or through ratiometric differences in fluorescence intensity. NAP-chol 1 also acts as a super gelator for DMSO. The resulting gel is transformed into a homogeneous solution upon exposure to fluoride anions. Bubbling with CO2 regenerates the gel. Subsequent flushing with N 2 or heating serves to release the CO2 and reform the sol form. This series of transformations is reversible and can be followed by easy-to-discern color changes. Thus, NAP-chol 1 allows for the capture and release of CO2 gas while acting as a three mode sensing system. In particular, it permits CO2 to be detected through reversible sol-gel transitions, simple changes in color, or ratiometric monitoring of the differences in the fluorescence features.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 4593 |
Journal | Scientific Reports |
Volume | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 4 Apr 2014 |