Electrospinning fibrous films doped with iridium complexes for high performance oxygen sensing: Synthesis and characterization

This work was devoted to three Ir(III) complexes having large conjugation planes and various numbers of fluorine substituents for optical oxygen sensing purpose. These F atoms might broaden electronic distribution of excited electrons and increase their decay lifetime, hoping to increase sensing collision probability of excited electrons with O 2 molecules. These Ir(III) complexes were analyzed by single crystal analysis and density functional theory calculation. Photophysical measurement suggested that their phosphorescent emission was quenchable by O 2 gas. By doping these Ir(III) complexes into fibrous films through electrospinning method, their oxygen sensing performance was explored. The presence of F atoms improved oxygen sensing performance. High sensitivity (12.89), short response (8 s), good stability and, more importantly, linear response were observed.