Gondola-shaped tetra-rhenium metallacycles modified evanescent wave infrared chemical sensors for selective determination of volatile organic compounds

Water-stable and cavity-contained rhenium metallacycles were synthesized, and their ability to selectively interact with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) systematically studied using attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy. Integrating the unique properties of rhenium metallacycles into optical sensing technologies significantly improves selectivity in detecting aromatic compounds. To explore the interaction of rhenium metallacycles with VOCs, the surface of ATR sensing elements was modified with the synthesized rhenium metallacycles and used to detect VOCs. The results indicate that rhenium metallacycles have crown ether-like recognition sites, which can selectively interact with aromatic compounds, especially those bearing polar functional groups. The IR absorption bands of rhenium metallacycles shift significantly upon adsorption of aromatic VOCs, revealing a strong interaction between the tetra-rhenium metallacycles and guest aromatic compounds. Optimizing the thickness of the metallacycles coated on the surface of the sensing element led to rapid response in detection. The dynamic range of response was generally up to 30 mg/L with detection limits ca. 30 μg/L. Further studies of the effect of interferences indicate that recovery can be higher than 95% for most of the compounds tested. The results on the flow-cell device indicated that the performances were similar to a static detection system but the detection of VOCs can be largely simplified.