Highly Efficient Sensors Based on Self-assembled Conjugated Polymer Layers on Electrospun Nanofibrous Membranes

Jayant Kumar, Physics

The use of electrospun nanofibrous membranes as highly responsive fluorescence quenching-based optical sensors for metal ions (Fe3+ and Hg2+) and 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) is reported. A fluorescent conjugated polymer, with a poly(thiophene) backbone, was used as the sensing material. The fluorescent polymer was assembled onto a nanofibrous membrane by sequential ionic adsorption. These sensors showed high sensitivities due to the high surface area-to-volume ratio of the nanofibrous membrane structures.