METAL-CONTAINING CONJUGATED POLYMERS AS FLUORESCENT CHEMOSENSORS IN THE DETECTION OF TOXICANTS.

Fluorescent conjugated polymers have received a great deal of recent interest due to their ability to act as chemosensors to detect various chemical species in both environmental and biological systems with sensitivity and selectivity. Examples from the literature include polymer chemosensors that operate on either fluorescence "turn-on" or "turn-off" as mechanisms of sensor response. These responses can be related to either photoinduced electron transfer or electronic energy transfer mechanisms.

The role of intermolecular interactions in solid state fluorescent conjugated polymer chemosensors.

A functionalized fluorescent conjugated polymer, tolylterpyridine poly(p-phenyleneethynylene-thienyleneethynylene (ttp-PPETE), was designed and synthesized to detect trace amounts of toxic transition metal pollutants in ground water. Photophysical studies in tetrahydrofuran (THF) successfully demonstrated this polymer as a selective and sensitive chemosensor for Ni(2+) and Co(2+) in aqueous solution. Solid state composites of these chemosensors have now been prepared which can be modified to provide for inexpensive and portable field based chemical detection.