Production of Fluorescent Quartz Fibers for an Optical Sensor

Quartz optical fibers are silylated with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane and treated with perylene sulfonic acid to produce a surface that exhibits typical perylene fluorescence, is stable and rugged, and can be excited by radiation traveling through the fiber. The attached fluorophore is exposed to quenching interactions by species in the atmosphere. All reactions are carried out in aqueous media. Sulfonation of perylene proceeds at relatively low temperatures and perylenation of silylated quartz must be carried out in dilute solution to prevent surface aggregation and disappearance of the characteristic monomer fluorescence signal.