title: Optical properties of hybrid dendritic-mesoporous titania nanocomposite films.
abstract: New hybrid optical sensors have been prepared by grafting specifically designed fluorescent, functionalised, phosphorus-containing dendrimers onto a nanocrystalline mesoporous titania thin film formed by evaporation-induced self-assembly. The structural characterisation and optical behaviour of these new fluorescent probes have been studied both in solution and after being grafted onto an inorganic network, which resulted in the discovery of improved probing selectivity in the solid state. This new hybrid sensor exhibits high sensitivity to phenolic OH moieties (especially those from resorcinol and 2-nitroresorcinol), which induce the quenching of fluorescence more efficiently in the solid state than in solution. This effect is a result of the increased spatial proximity of the fluorescent molecules, which is induced by pore confinement that makes the formation of hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl moieties of the quenchers and the carbonyl groups of the dendrimer easier.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Chimie de la Matière Condensée, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 Place Jussieu, Paris Cedex 05, France.
authors.forename: Eugenia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martínez-Ferrero
authors.forename: Grégory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Franc
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mazères
authors.forename: Cédric-Olivier
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Turrin
authors.forename: Cédric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boissière
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Caminade
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Majoral
authors.forename: Clément
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sanchez
mesh_terms: D050091:Dendrimers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D004566:Electrodes; D005453:Fluorescence; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D015394:Molecular Structure; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013499:Surface Properties; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D050091:Dendrimers; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; C009495:titanium dioxide; D010758:Phosphorus; D014025:Titanium