Date of Award
2010
Degree Type
Dissertation
Abstract
There is always a need for innovation in chemical sensing technologies. Over the past several decades, many advances have been realized. However, many applications still suffer due to the fact that they can be expensive and time consuming, both in the preparation/production of sensing devices/materials and in their use during analysis, making them impractical for routine analysis. The push toward new materials in the design of chemical sensing technologies has been pronounced. Novel materials based on nanotechtonic approaches offer more specificity to sensing applications and can offer the user ease of use at less expense. This work focuses on the development of novel materials utilizing functionalized silane-based polymers. Such polymers have the ability to bond directly with inorganic matrices and not experience phase segregation from which many organic-inorganic materials suffer. Polymers have been functionalized with fluorescent molecules in the polymer backbone. Fluorescence has been chosen for sensing due to rapid response times and sensitivity. These functionalized polymers have been incorporated into composite nanoparticles. Various fluorescence studies have been performed on these composite materials to investigate steady-state response to microenvironmental deviations. The materials have also been exposed to various quenchers (e.g. TNT) to gauge response and evaluate potential utility for sensing applications. The nanoparticles are also deposited on various surfaces with a goal toward sensing arrays. We have demonstrated the synthesis of various functionalized silane-based polymers and their inclusion in composite nanoparticles. These materials exhibit sensitivity to solvent effects as well as microenvironmental fluctuations, particularly during sol gel formation and a clear response to quencher molecules. Nanoparticles have been deposited on surfaces employing a facile method utilizing surface-bound silane polymers.
Recommended Citation
Corbett, Brian W., "A novel nanotechtonics approach to nanoparticle assembly for chemical sensing arrays" (2010). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 2386.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/2386
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