Polymeric optical sensors for selective and sensitive nitrite detection using cobalt(III) corrole and rhodium(III) porphyrin as ionophores

•We examine cobalt(III) corroles and rhodium(III) porphyrins as ionophores in polymeric films for optical sensors to detect nitrite.•Different types of proton chromoionophores are evaluated to optimize nitrite response.•Selectivity over lipophilic anions such as perchlorate and thiocyanate is observed.•Both ionophores yield optical sensors that are fully reversible.•The cobalt(III) corrole based sensor is employed to determine nitric oxide emission rates from NO donor doped polymers with good accuracy.

Cobalt(III) 5,10,15-tris(4-tert-butylphenyl) corrole with a triphenylphosphine axial ligand and rhodium(III) 5,10,15,20-tetra(p-tert-butylphenyl) porphyrin are incorporated into plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) films to fabricate nitrite-selective bulk optodes via absorbance measurements. The resulting films yield sensitive, fast and fully reversible response toward nitrite with significantly enhanced nitrite selectivity over other anions including lipophilic anions such as thiocyanate and perchlorate. The selectivity patterns differ greatly from the Hofmeister series based on anion lipophilicity and are consistent with selectivity obtained with potentiometric sensors based on the same ionophores. The optical nitrite sensors are shown to be useful for detecting rates of emission of nitric oxide (NO) from NO releasing polymers containing S-nitroso-N-acetyl-DL-penicillamine.

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