Bowing Effect with Fluorescence: A Unique Chemosensor for the Silver Ion

A unique chemosensor for Ag ions was created by coupling an anthracene signaling unit onto an amine-terminated glass slide. Chemical dye (Orange II) was applied to establish the exposed amine groups on the surface, because the coupling reaction is dependent on the amount of the exposed amine groups. The assembled layer had a surface that was not flat but, instead, had an embossed shape, on the microscale; the surface roughness was greater than that of the original glass, because of the morphology of the rare glass. The quenching effect of the synthesized chemosensor is notable in Ag aqueous solution, despite concentrations on the parts per billion (ppb) scale. When several Ag ions were provided for the chemosensor, the morphology of the chemosensor was considerably changed, which made the contact angles change. All the states of the chemosensor in the surface were characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The bowing effect and binding state, in regard to the adsorption of Ag ions, were further specified using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).