Advanced Materials and Measuring Techniques for Chemical Sensors

Abstract

This overview focuses on modifications of chemical compounds used in the development of chemical sensors, and on materials and chemical sensors which may be sufficiently mature to be used in the industry. Special attention is paid to gas-selective optode membranes which incorporate compounds such as cobyrinate derivatives and Ru(II)complexes that are chemically modified in view of a specific application. New materials are described, e.g. the magnesium-selective ionophores currently used for diagnostic applications, and a class of substituted polymethine dyes characterized by an amine donor and a bisdicyanovinyl-ideneindandione acceptor group, where the target pKa can be modulated by decisive substituents.Three projects are discussed in more detail: 1) the development of ion-selective nanoprobes on the basis of coated AFM-tips; 2) reactands and chromoreactands which are covalently bound to acrylate-based copolymers and allow to monitor alcohols and amines continuously, and 3) a continuous-flow module integrating a fiber-optical probe that allows to monitor variations in the absorption spectrum of chromoreactands in the transflection mode.