Electrospun polyacrylic acid polymer fibers functionalized with metallophthalocyanines for photosensitizing and gas sensing applications

Abstract

The photophysical and photochemical properties of tetraaminophthalocyanine complexes of lutetium and zinc covalently linked to polyacrylic acid were studied alongside those of unsubstituted zinc phthalocyanine within the same polymeric fiber matrix. All three phthalocyanines within the solid fber matrices showed photoactivity by the generation of singlet oxygen as was observed in solution. The fluorescence behaviors of the composite fbers equally parallel those in solution. For the unsubstituted zinc phthalocyanine composite, the fiber showed fluorescence quenching on interaction with gaseous nitrogen dioxide similar to that in DMF and, thus could be a promising nanofabric material in developing optoelectronic devices that are responsive to the gas