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Lutsyk P, Arif R, Hruby J, Bukivskyi A, Vinijchuk O, Shandura M, Yakubovskyi V, Kovtun Y, Rance GA, Fay M, Piryatinski Y, Kachkovsky O, Verbitsky A, Rozhin A. A sensing mechanism for the detection of carbon nanotubes using selective photoluminescent probes based on ionic complexes with organic dyes. Light Sci Appl 2016; 5:e16028. [PMID: 30167142 PMCID: PMC6062430 DOI: 10.1038/lsa.2016.28] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2015] [Revised: 09/11/2015] [Accepted: 09/22/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The multifunctional properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) make them a powerful platform for unprecedented innovations in a variety of practical applications. As a result of the surging growth of nanotechnology, nanotubes present a potential problem as an environmental pollutant, and as such, an efficient method for their rapid detection must be established. Here, we propose a novel type of ionic sensor complex for detecting CNTs - an organic dye that responds sensitively and selectively to CNTs with a photoluminescent signal. The complexes are formed through Coulomb attractions between dye molecules with uncompensated charges and CNTs covered with an ionic surfactant in water. We demonstrate that the photoluminescent excitation of the dye can be transferred to the nanotubes, resulting in selective and strong amplification (up to a factor of 6) of the light emission from the excitonic levels of CNTs in the near-infrared spectral range, as experimentally observed via excitation-emission photoluminescence (PL) mapping. The chirality of the nanotubes and the type of ionic surfactant used to disperse the nanotubes both strongly affect the amplification; thus, the complexation provides sensing selectivity towards specific CNTs. Additionally, neither similar uncharged dyes nor CNTs covered with neutral surfactant form such complexes. As model organic molecules, we use a family of polymethine dyes with an easily tailorable molecular structure and, consequently, tunable absorbance and PL characteristics. This provides us with a versatile tool for the controllable photonic and electronic engineering of an efficient probe for CNT detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petro Lutsyk
- Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 46, prospekt Nauky, 03680 Kyiv, Ukraine
- School of Engineering & Applied Science, Aston University, Aston Triangle, B47ET Birmingham, UK
| | - Raz Arif
- School of Engineering & Applied Science, Aston University, Aston Triangle, B47ET Birmingham, UK
- Physics Department, Faculty of Science, University of Sulaimani, P.O. Box 334, Sulaimani, Iraq-Kurdistan Region
| | - Jan Hruby
- School of Engineering & Applied Science, Aston University, Aston Triangle, B47ET Birmingham, UK
- Brno University of Technology, CEITEC BUT, Technická 3058/10, 616 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Anatolii Bukivskyi
- Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 46, prospekt Nauky, 03680 Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Olexander Vinijchuk
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 5 Murmanska str., 02660 Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Mykola Shandura
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 5 Murmanska str., 02660 Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Viktor Yakubovskyi
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 5 Murmanska str., 02660 Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Yuri Kovtun
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 5 Murmanska str., 02660 Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Graham A Rance
- School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Michael Fay
- Nottingham Nanotechnology and Nanoscience Centre, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Yuri Piryatinski
- Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 46, prospekt Nauky, 03680 Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Oleksiy Kachkovsky
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 5 Murmanska str., 02660 Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Anatoli Verbitsky
- Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 46, prospekt Nauky, 03680 Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Aleksey Rozhin
- School of Engineering & Applied Science, Aston University, Aston Triangle, B47ET Birmingham, UK
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