Issue 18, 2023

A luminescent Cu4 cluster film grown by electrospray deposition: a nitroaromatic vapour sensor

Abstract

We present the fabrication and use of a film of a carborane-thiol-protected tetranuclear copper cluster with characteristic orange luminescence using ambient electrospray deposition (ESD). Charged microdroplets of the clusters produced by an electrospray tip deposit the clusters at an air–water interface to form a film. Different microscopic and spectroscopic techniques characterized the porous surface structure of the film. Visible and rapid quenching of the emission of the film upon exposure to 2-nitrotoluene (2-NT) vapours under ambient conditions was observed. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations established the favourable binding sites of 2-NT with the cluster. Desorption of 2-NT upon heating recovered the original luminescence, demonstrating the reusability of the sensor. Stable emission upon exposure to different organic solvents and its quenching upon exposure to 2,4-dinitrotoluene and picric acid showed selectivity of the film to nitroaromatic species.

Graphical abstract: A luminescent Cu4 cluster film grown by electrospray deposition: a nitroaromatic vapour sensor

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
28 Jan 2023
Accepted
26 Mar 2023
First published
05 Apr 2023

Nanoscale, 2023,15, 8141-8147

A luminescent Cu4 cluster film grown by electrospray deposition: a nitroaromatic vapour sensor

A. Jana, B. K. Spoorthi, A. S. Nair, A. Nagar, B. Pathak, T. Base and T. Pradeep, Nanoscale, 2023, 15, 8141 DOI: 10.1039/D3NR00416C

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