Fluorescence sensor for water in organic solvents prepared from covalent immobilization of 4-morpholinyl-1, 8-naphthalimide

A new fluorescent dye, N-allyl-4-morpholinyl-1,8-naphthalimide (AMN), was synthesized as a fluorescence indicator in the fabrication of a sensor for determining water content in organic solvents. To prevent leakage of the fluorophore, AMN was photo-copolymerized with acrylamide, (2-hydroxyethyl)methacrylate, and triethylene glycol dimethacrylate on a glass surface treated with a silanizing agent. The sensing mechanism is based on the solvatochromic feature of the covalently immobilized AMN. The fluorescence intensity of AMN decreased with increasing water contents when it was excited at 400 nm. In the range of ca. 0.00–4.40% (v/v), the fluorescence intensity of AMN changed as a linear function of water content. The sensor exhibited satisfactory reproducibility, reversibility, and a response time (t ₉₉) of the order of 50 s. The detection limit was solvent-dependent, when acetonitrile was used as the solvent, and the detection limit could be as low as 0.006% (v/v) of water. Additionally, the prepared sensor is pH-insensitive and possesses a relatively long lifetime of at least one month.