HKU Chemistry

Professor Ben-Zhong TANG and his team have designed a new fluorescent carbon dioxide sensor that was unaffected by carbon monoxide. Highlighted in the Chemical & Engineering News published by the American Chemical Society (C&EN, Oct 8, 2001, page 29), bubbling of carbon dioxide to 1,1,2,3,4,5-hexaphenylsilole (HPS) dissolved in dipropylamine (DPA) would produce a viscous, polar ionic liquid that fluoresces due to HPS aggragation. Because carbon dioxide and DPA generate more ionic liquid as gas concentrations increase, the fluorescence intensity mirrors carbon dioxide levels  (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 13951-13953).