Oxygen sensing by fluorescence quenching of [Cu(btmgp)I]

A fluorescence study of acetonitrile solutions of bis(tetramethylguanidine)propane, copper(I)-iodide and [Cu(btmgp)I] was performed and the chemical reaction of the latter species with O 2 was investigated at room temperature. The actual quenching process via O 2 gassing was studied and an exponential dependence of the fluorescence intensity with respect to the complex concentration was observed. Furthermore the survey was deepened on time resolved fluorescence properties of solved [Cu(btmgp)I] in a wider concentration range. The applicability of this complex for O 2 sensing inside a microreactor system was proven by confocal fluorescence measurements. It was shown that the investigated system can be used for oxygen sensing in the copper concentration range from 10 −2 to 10 −9 mol/l.