Optical recognition of organic vapours through ultrathin calix[4]pyrrole films

Thin films of meso-octaethylporphyrinogen were deposited on suitable surface by Langmuir–Blodgett technique in order to obtain optical sensors using Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR)technique. In particular such coatings were tested in the molecular recognition of alcohol vapours such as ethanol and methanol. This resulted in a reversible shift in the resonance depth and position of the SPR curves. Different sensitivity and rate of response for different alcohol molecules were found.