Sensitization mechanism chemosensors

In order to quantify the transition metal ion concentration, Jones et al. [107] developed a highly sensitive fluorescent chemosensor in the form of dialkoxy-phenyleneethynylene-thiophene copolymers 68/69. The PAEs were functionalized on the thiophene unit with terpyridine (68), and included 2,2 -bipyridine (69) as a Lewis acid receptor. The terpyridine polymers [108] were found to respond quantitatively to transition metal ions at concentrations as low as 4x10 M (NP, Hg, Cr ", and Co " ). The additionally used bpy-PAE demonstrates that variation in the chelation at the receptor site is an important variable in tuning selectivity. The observed dynamic quenching mechanism, combined with the solubility of this material, provides the opportunity to extend these initial investigations to thin solid films for use in real-time monitoring applications. 

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