An Active Self–Assembled Monolayer Sensors for Trace Explosive Detection

Trace explosives can be detected with the help of a portable device by using a flexible active self–assembled monolayer (SAM). 9, 10–diphenyl anthracene with aggregation–induced emission enhancement (AIEE) properties is selected as the fluorophore. The phosphoric acid as the anchor group is linked to the fluorophore through an alkyl chain and able to self–assemble into a dense monolayer on the HfO2 adhesion layer on a flexible substrate. The dense SAMs show high fluorescence intensity, which can be quenched by nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) and have advantages in the response rate, sensitivity, reversibility and selectivity.