Fabrication of Eu(III) complex doped nanofibrous membranes and their oxygen-sensing properties

In this paper, we report the synthesis, characterization, and photophysical properties of Eu(TTA)3ECIP, where TTA = 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetonate, and ECIP = 1-ethyl-2-(N-ethyl-carbazole-yl-4-)imidazo[4,5-f]1,10-phenanthroline. Its elementary application for oxygen-sensing application is also investigated by doping it into a polymer matrix of polystyrene (PS). Experimental data suggest that the 2.5 wt% doped Eu(TTA)3ECIP/PS nanofibrous membrane exhibits a high sensitivity of 3.4 towards oxygen with a good linear relationship of R2 = 0.9962. In addition, the 2.5 wt% doped Eu(TTA)3ECIP/PS nanofibrous membrane owns a quick response of 8 s towards oxygen, along with its excellent atmosphere insensitivity and photobleaching resistance. All these results suggest that both Eu(TTA)3ECIP and Eu(TTA)3ECIP/PS system are promising candidates for oxygen-sensing optical sensors.