Cruciform-silica hybrid materials.

Silica scaffolding: By employing functionalized mesoporous SBA-15 silica, novel fluorescent cruciform-silica hybrid materials are generated which preserve the desirable solution properties of cruciforms in the solid state for potential use in sensory schemes. Preserving the solution properties of functional fluorophores upon incorporation into solid state sensory schemes remains a significant challenge. To address this concern, a silica scaffold was employed to support functional fluorophores in the solid state. Herein, we report an effort to support 1,4-distyryl-2,5-bisarylethynylbenzene cruciforms (XFs) using functionalized mesoporous silica particles. By employing surface-functionalized mesoporous SBA-15 silica, novel fluorescent cruciform-silica hybrid materials are generated which retain the desirable solution properties of cruciforms in the solid state. Organic surface functionalities, such as acidic, basic, and hydrophobic groups employed on the silica scaffold, modulate the observed emissions of the resulting solid state materials. The potential of these XF-silica hybrid materials to display sensory responses to representative vapor-phase analytes is demonstrated.