Study of calixarenes thin films as chemical sensors for the detection of explosives

Selected applications of calixarene derivatives

“…[5][6][7] Calixarenes form metal nanoparticles, [8][9][10] e.g. AuNPs 8,9 and AgNPs, 10 as well as organic NPs, 11 and serve for construction of sensors; [12][13][14] they also may be used as extractants of f-elements. 15,16 The present paper is a continuation of our previous reviews concerning covalently and noncovalently bound calixarene assemblies, 17 calixarenes functionalized at wide and narrow rims, 18 calixarenes substituted at meso positions, 19 calixarene complexes with metal ions, 20 as well as calixarenes and resorcinarenes.…”

Langmuir–Blodgett thin film for chloroform detection

“…All measurements were taken in dry air condition in a small gas cell which could eliminate the effect of water vapor on the response properties of calix [4]resorcinarene LB films [7,8]. A special flow cell from transparent plastic, compatible for vapor or gas measurements was constructed to study the kinetic response of C11TEA LB film on exposure to organic vapours by measuring the reflected light intensity changes.…”

“…The resulting tetramine was then refluxed with five equivalents of ethyl bromide in ethanol for 16 h, volatiles removed and the calix recrystallised from ethanol. Calix [4]resorcinarene (C11TEA) was chosen as it forms good quality LB films and similar materials have also been shown to react to aqueous guests [15]. It was also hypothesized that the presence of cationic ammonium substituents would effect both the size and electron density of the cavity, potentially improving it's binding properties and enhancing sensitivity towards certain vapours.…”

“…Calix [n]arenes are known to be excellent Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett film forming materials and they are used as specific ligands for analytical chemistry, sensor techniques, and medical diagnostics, since a number of synthesis methods allow flexible variation of their ring size, they can be functionalized with a wide range of functional groups, and have structural characteristics such as high porosity and good chemical stability [2]. Chemical sensors based on relatively low cost synthesis calixarenes and calixresorcinarenes were designed to detect various inorganic gases [3], explosive vapours [4] and volatile organic compounds (VOC's) [5,6] because of their flexible structure, as well as their wide range of physical and chemical properties that can be tailored by changing their compositions.…”

Calixarenes containing modified meso bridges

“…They are intensively studied due to the wide range of their applications, e.g. they form inclusion complexes useful in various fields, 1 form calixarene capsules, 2 are promising as chiral NMR solvating agents, 3 form gold 4 and silver 5 nanoparticles, are useful as catalysts 6 and as liquid crystals, 7 serve for design of sensors [8][9][10] and are promising as therapeutic agents. 11,12 Calixarenes belong to the family of cage macrocycles, including besides them cyclodextrins, [13][14][15] cucurbiturils 16,17 and pillararenes.…”