Optical alcohol sensor based on dye–Chitosan polyelectrolyte multilayers

The layer-by-layer deposition technique was used to prepare polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) thin films that are sensitive to ethanol content in water. Cationic Chitosan was assembled with anionic acid dye, (phenyl amino)-5-[[4-(3-sulphonatophenyl) azo]-(1-naphthalenyl) azo]-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid disodium salt (Nylosan) on glass slide and characterized using UV–vis spectroscopy. The layer-by-layer deposition of Chitosan–Nylosan into PEM was studied by monitoring the increase in absorbance in the visible region (500–600 nm). The typical linear relationship between increase in absorbance and number of layers was found. The PEM thin films responded to increasing concentrations of ethanol in water with a shift of maximum absorbance (λmax) from 540 to 580 nm. This shift was also characterized by an increase in absorbance at 600 nm which was used to monitor the response of the thin film to ethanol content in water. The characteristic color shift of the Nylosan dye occurred at a higher ethanol concentration (from 10% to 45%) in the PEM compared to its usual shift in aqueous solution (from 0% to 30%). The Chitosan–Nylosan thin films response to ethanol content was found to be linear from 10% to 45% ethanol content, which renders them useful as ethanol sensing thin films.