Development of oxygen and temperature sensitive membranes using molecular probes as ratiometric sensor

• Development of fluorescent membranes.
• Immobilization of molecular probes.
• Oxygen and temperature sensitive membranes.
• Ratiometric signal for correcting artifacts.
• Temperature compensation of the signal.

In this work we show that, the combination of (i) high mechanical stability (provided by a PS matrix), (ii) high sensitivity and selectivity (provided by a two-dye system of Tris (1,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(II) chloride hydrate (Ru(phen)3) and 7-​Methoxy-​4-​methylcoumarin) and (iii) high reproducibility in the output signal/response, results in a membrane able for monitoring O2 and temperature in membrane processes at laboratory and industrial scales.Due to the matched sensitivity of the developed ratiometric probe to oxygen and temperature a simple correction algorithm was implemented, which allows at overcoming the vulnerability of the ratiometric signal to the temperature, leading to a robust evaluation of the oxygen concentration.The impact of introducing this photochemical activity in membranes opens a new perspective for non-invasive monitoring of membrane processes (e.g. measurement of temperature in membrane distillation processes, oxygen measurement for monitoring of biofilm onset and development in reverse osmosis).

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