Green luminescent iridium(III) complex immobilized in fluoropolymer film as optical oxygen-sensing material Original Research Article

An optical oxygen sensor based on the luminescence intensity changes of tris(2-phenylpyridine anion) iridium(III) complex ([Ir(ppy)3]) immobilized in fluoropolymer, poly(styrene-co-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) (poly(styrene-co-TFEM)) film was developed. The luminescence intensity of [Ir(ppy)3] in poly(styrene-co-TFEM) film decreased with increase of oxygen concentration. The ratio I0/I100 (a sensitivity of the film, where I0 and I100 represent the detected luminescence intensities from a film exposed to 100% argon and 100% oxygen, respectively) value of [Ir(ppy)3] in poly(styrene-co-TFEM) film is estimated to be 15.3. A Stern–Volmer plot of the [Ir(ppy)3] film exhibited considerable linearity (r2=0.998) and the Stern–Volmer constant, KSV is estimated to be 0.02 Torr−1, indicating that a highly sensitive oxygen sensor is developed using [Ir(ppy)3] immobilized in poly(styrene-co-TFEM) film.