Cm. Ingersoll et Fv. Bright, TOWARD SOL-GEL-PROCESSED CHEMICAL SENSING PLATFORMS - EFFECTS OF DOPANT ADDITION TIME ON SENSOR PERFORMANCE, Journal of sol-gel science and technology, 11(2), 1998, pp. 169-176
The development of new chemical and biochemical sensing schemes has be
en a topic of growing interest. Simplicity of preparation and mild pro
cessing conditions have made sol-gel-derived composites attractive for
many chemical sensing schemes. A portion of our research centers on u
sing sol-gel-processed materials for the development of selective sens
ors. Over the years we have aimed to characterize the analytical perfo
rmance of these types of sol-gel-based sensing platforms. In the cours
e of this work we recently discovered that the time (prior to casting)
when the sensing chemistry is actually doped into the sol-gel process
ing solution plays a critical role in a given sensor's analytical perf
ormance. In this paper we report on the effects of doping time on the
behavior of a model organic dopant (pyrene) sequestered within sol-gel
-derived microfiber tips and films. We use O-2 as the analyte and dete
rmine the sensor sensitivity and temporal response as a function of do
ping time. We also quantify the local dipolarity of the immediate envi
ronment surrounding the average pyrene molecule as a function of dopin
g time.