Developing a chemical sensor for trinitrotoluene based on integrated optics waveguide spectrometry using molecularly imprinted sol-gel as a recognition element

ANYL 186

Margaret Timmers, mtimmers@wooster.edu, Department of Chemistry, College of Wooster, 943 College Ave., Wooster, OH 44691 and Paul L. Edmiston, pedmiston@wooster.edu, Department of Chemistry, The College of Wooster, 943 College Ave., Wooster, OH 44691.
A sensor for gas phase trinitrotoluene (TNT) based on an integrated optical waveguide attenuated total reflectance spectrometry (IOW-ATR) platform was designed and tested. Sol-gel films molecularly imprinted for TNT were deposited on planar waveguides. The imprinted sol-gel layer provides for selective binding of TNT and subsequent conversion of TNT to the colored anionic form. Detection limits were found to be approximately one femtomole/second in air. Several different compositions of sol-gels were investigated to evaluate which formulation improved sensitivity. The molecularly imprinted sol-gel films were examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) to measure thickness and morphology. AFM indicated that the sol-gel films were composed of approximately 40 nm particles dispersed as a monolayer on the waveguide surface. The effect of morphology on sensor response was investigated.
 

General Session
7:00 PM-9:00 PM, Sunday, 26 March 2006 Georgia World Congress Center -- Ex. Hall B4, Poster

Sci-Mix
8:00 PM-10:00 PM, Monday, 27 March 2006 Georgia World Congress Center -- Ex. Hall B4, Sci-Mix

Division of Analytical Chemistry

The 231st ACS National Meeting, Atlanta, GA, March 26-30, 2006