TY - JOUR T1 - A Luminescent Cu4 Cluster Film Grown by Electrospray Deposition: A Nitroaromatic Vapour Sensor JF - Nanoscale Y1 - 2023 A1 - Arijit Jana A1 - B K Spoorthi A1 - Akhil S Nair A1 - Biswarup Pathak A1 - Tomas Base A1 - Thalappil Pradeep KW - carborane KW - Copper KW - luminescence KW - nanocluster KW - nitro organic KW - sensor AB -

We present the fabrication and use of a film of 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 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 at ambient condition 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 quenching of it upon the exposure to 2, 4-dinitrotoluene and picric acid showed selectivity of the film to nitroaromatic species.

UR - https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2023/nr/d3nr00416c ER -