Mesoporous organosilicates have been developed for a range of detection relevant scenarios. Fluorescence- and reflectance-based sensing of hydrocarbons has been demonstrated using porphyrin-embedded materials (PEMs). Design of these materials involved a parallel selection of porphyrin/metalloporphyrin indicators and porous sorbents to yield materials with high binding affinities and measurable changes in optical characteristics for benzene, toluene, and hexane. For another application, a hierarchical macroporous-mesoporous organosilicate was utilized to preconcentrate nitroenergetic targets (e.g. TNT, RDX, HMX) from spiked deionized water, groundwater, and surface water samples to improve the sensitivity of HPLC analysis. Performance was compared to that of commercial resins. Materials were also challenged with aqueous extracts of soil samples collected from ordnance testing sites. Imprinting the mesopore surfaces with a modified surfactant template improved selective adsorption of TNT. Imprinted and non-imprinted hierarchical porous materials were applied in-line for preconcentration of TNT prior to detection using an electrochemical flow cell.

Application of nanoporous organosilicates to detection of nitroenergetic compounds and volatile hydrocarbon solvents

242nd National Meeting (2011)

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