Self-Assembling Nanoarchitectonics of Twisted Nanofibers of Fluorescent Amphiphiles as Chemo-Resistive Sensor for Methanol Detection
Vandana Singh,
Ayyapillai Thamizhanban,
Krishnamoorthy Lalitha,
Dinesh Kumar Subbiah,
Arun Kumar Rachamalla,
Vara Prasad Rebaka,
Tohira Banoo,
Yogendra Kumar,
Vellaisamy Sridharan,
Asrar Ahmad,
Uma Maheswari Chockalingam,
John Bosco Balaguru Rayappan,
Azmat Ali Khan,
Subbiah Nagarajan
Affiliations
Vandana Singh
Department of Chemistry, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur 613401, Tamil Nadu, India
Ayyapillai Thamizhanban
Department of Chemistry, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur 613401, Tamil Nadu, India
Krishnamoorthy Lalitha
Department of Chemistry, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur 613401, Tamil Nadu, India
Dinesh Kumar Subbiah
Centre for Nano Technology & Advanced Biomaterials (CeNTAB), School of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur 613401, Tamil Nadu, India
Arun Kumar Rachamalla
Assembled Organic and Hybrid Materials Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology Warangal, Warangal 506004, Telangana, India
Vara Prasad Rebaka
Assembled Organic and Hybrid Materials Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology Warangal, Warangal 506004, Telangana, India
Tohira Banoo
Assembled Organic and Hybrid Materials Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology Warangal, Warangal 506004, Telangana, India
Yogendra Kumar
Assembled Organic and Hybrid Materials Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology Warangal, Warangal 506004, Telangana, India
Vellaisamy Sridharan
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Sciences, Central University of Jammu, Rahya-Suchani (Bagla), District-Samba, Jammu 181143, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Asrar Ahmad
Center for Sickle Cell Disease, College of Medicine, Howard University, Washington, DC 20001, USA
Uma Maheswari Chockalingam
Department of Chemistry, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur 613401, Tamil Nadu, India
John Bosco Balaguru Rayappan
Centre for Nano Technology & Advanced Biomaterials (CeNTAB), School of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur 613401, Tamil Nadu, India
Azmat Ali Khan
Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Subbiah Nagarajan
Department of Chemistry, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur 613401, Tamil Nadu, India
The inhalation, ingestion, and body absorption of noxious gases lead to severe tissue damage, ophthalmological issues, and neurodegenerative disorders; death may even occur when recognized too late. In particular, methanol gas present in traces can cause blindness, non-reversible organ failure, and even death. Even though ample materials are available for the detection of methanol in other alcoholic analogs at ppm level, their scope is very limited because of the use of either toxic or expensive raw materials or tedious fabrication procedures. In this paper, we report on a simple synthesis of fluorescent amphiphiles achieved using a starting material derived from renewable resources, this material being methyl ricinoleate in good yields. The newly synthesized bio-based amphiphiles were prone to form a gel in a broad range of solvents. The morphology of the gel and the molecular-level interaction involved in the self-assembly process were thoroughly investigated. Rheological studies were carried out to probe the stability, thermal processability, and thixotropic behavior. In order to evaluate the potential application of the self-assembled gel in the field of sensors, we performed sensor measurements. Interestingly, the twisted fibers derived from the molecular assembly could be able to display a stable and selective response towards methanol. We believe that the bottom-up assembled system holds great promise in the environmental, healthcare, medicine, and biological fields.
