Cu(I)-based molecular emitters for quantification of fluoride and phosphate in surface waters

• Published in: Measurement : journal of the International Measurement Confederation Vol. 184; p. 109976
• Main Authors: Surkova, Anastasiia A., Paderina, Aleksandra V., Legin, Andrey V., Grachova, Elena V., Kirsanov, Dmitry O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Elsevier Ltd 01-11-2021; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Chemometrics; Copper; Copper complexes; Emitters; Error analysis; Fluoride; Fluorides; Light sources; Mean square errors; Measuring instruments; Molecular emitters; Optical multisensor system; Phosphate; Phosphates; Sensors; Surface water; Water analysis; Water sampling; Optical multisensor system; Fluoride; Water analysis; Phosphate; Molecular emitters; Chemometrics; Copper complexes
• ISSN: 0263-2241; 1873-412X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.measurement.2021.109976

•Cu(I) molecular emitters as multiband light sources for multisensor system.•Optical multisensor system with tuneable intensity and wavelength range.•Fluoride and phosphate quantification in natural and tap waters.
Advances in material science, optics, and electronics allow the creation of simple and low-cost measuring devices for various applications. In the present work, an optical multisensor system was designed using Cu(I) molecular emitters as a light source. The major advantage of this measuring platform is the ability to adjust the source wavelength for a particular analytical task. Here the possibility to measure fluoride and phosphate content in natural and tap waters using the optical setup with a UV flashlight as an excitation source for Cu(I) complexes has been demonstrated. The root mean-square prediction error (RMSEP) value for analyzed water samples attained with partial least-squares (PLS) regression method was 0.07 mg/L for both fluoride (0–0.4 mg/L concentration range) and phosphate (0–0.96 mg/L). These values are comparable with those for standard analytical techniques. This proof of concept study confirms the possibility of constructing adjustable optical multisensor systems based on Cu(I) emitters for real-life applications.