(356i) Properties of Fluorescent Polymer Film with Three-Dimensionally Ordered Nanopores and Its Application in Explosive Detection

We demonstrate here how a simple dip-coating process of a mixture of polymer and fluorophore onto a glass slide generates a self-assembled fluorescent nanostructured film expressing regular nanopores. Morphology investigations through SEM, AFM and confocal fluorescence microscopy reveal that the fluorescent polymer films consist of a high-surface, three-dimensional nanoporous array of holes, enabling that the fluorescence of this material is rapidly and selectively quenched by nitroaromatic vapors. The morphology of the polymer film was controlled by variation of the dip-coating parameters and the the polymer : fluorophore ratio. This ratio also controls the fluorescence quenching efficiency of the sensing film. We demonstrate the possible molecular origins of this through structural XRD studies as well as investigations of the electronic structure (optical properties, band gap and conduction band determinations) of the polymer film. The findings here point toward a general method for the facile realization of well-defined three-dimensional high surface sensor materials with optimized electronic properties.