Supramolecular Assembly of Planar Systems from Modular Molecules with a Given Hydrophilic–Lipophilic Balance: Film Sensors with an Anthraquinone Signal Group

This work presents an original approach to obtaining highly sensitive ultrathin film sensors that allows molecular design of surface–active modular molecules by completing a signal anthraquinone block with hydrophobic radicals and polar receptor groups, with their number and size provided in accordance with the sensor type. An important advantage of the suggested approach is that it not only allows the functioning of sensors in the aqueous medium, but also their manufacturing (supramolecular assembly). The key regularity of ligands of the suggested series is selectivity with respect to mercury and copper cations. Application of amphipilic ligands in film liquid (Langmuir monolayers) and solid–state (Langmuir–Blodgett films) sensors allowed developing optical sensors for mercury and copper cations with the detection limit, as dependent on the sensor type, varying from several to hundredths of ppm.