Chemiluminescence, the production of light from a chemical reaction, has found widespread use in analytical chemistry. Both tris (2, 2’-bipyridyl) ruthenium (II) and acidic potassium permanganate are chemiluminescence reagents that have been employed for the determination of a diverse range of analytes. This thesis encompasses some fundamental investigations into the chemistry and spectroscopy of these chemiluminescence reactions as well as extending the scope of their analytical applications. Specifically, a simple and robust capillary electrophoresis chemiluminescence detection system for the determination of codeine, O6-methylcodeine and thebaine is described, based upon the reaction of these analytes with chemically generated tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III) prepared in sulfuric acid (0.05 M). The reagent solution was contained in a glass detection cell, which also held both the capillary and the cathode. The resultant chemiluminescence was monitored directly using a photomultiplier tube mounted flush against the base of the detection cell. The methodology, which incorporated a field amplification sample introduction procedure, realised detection limits (3a baseline noise) of 5 x 10~8 M for both codeine and O6-methylcodeine and 1 x 10~7 M for thebaine. The relative standard deviations of the migration times and the peak areas for the three analytes ranged from 2.2 % up to 2.5 % and 1.9 % up to 4.6 % respectively. Following minor instrumental modifications, morphine, oripavine and pseudomorphine were determined based upon their reaction with acidic potassium permanganate in the presence of sodium polyphosphate. To ensure no migration of the permanganate anion occurred, the anode was placed at the detector end whilst the electroosmotic flow was reversed by the addition of hexadimethrine bromide (0.001% m/v) to the electrolyte. The three analytes were separated counter to the electroosmotic flow via their interaction with a-cyclodextrin. The methodology realised detection limits (3 x S/N) of 2.5 x 10~7 M for both morphine and oripavine and 5 x 10~7 M for pseudomorphine. The relative standard deviations of the migration times and the peak heights for the three analytes ranged from 0.6 % up to 0.8 % and 1.5% up to 2.1 % respectively. Further improvements were made by incorporating a co-axial sheath flow detection cell. The methodology was validated by comparing the results realised using this technique with those obtained by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), for the determination of both morphine and oripavine in seven industrial process liquors. A complimentary capillary electrophoresis procedure with UV-absorption detection was also developed and applied to the determination of morphine, codeine, oripavine and thebaine in nine process liquors. The results were compared with those achieved using a standard HPLC method. Although over eighty papers have appeared in the literature on the analytical applications of acidic potassium permanganate chemiluminescence, little effort has been directed towards identifying the origin of the luminescence. It was found that chemiluminescence was generated during the manganese(III), manganese(IV) and manganese(VII) oxidations of sodium borohydride, sodium dithionite, sodium sulfite and hydrazine sulfate in acidic aqueous solution. From the corrected chemiluminescence spectra, the wavelengths of maximum emission were 689 ± 5 nm and 734 ± 5 nm when the reactions were performed in sodium hexametaphosphate and sodium dihydrogenorthophosphate or orthophosphoric acid environments respectively. The corrected phosphorescence spectrum of manganese(II) sulfate in a solution of sodium hexametaphosphate at 77 K, exhibited two peaks with maxima at 688 nm and 730 nm. The chemical and spectroscopic evidence presented strongly supported the postulation that the emission was an example of solution phase chemically induced phosphorescence of manganese(II). Thereby confirming earlier predictions that the chemiluminescence from acidic potassium permanganate reactions originated from an excited manganese(II) species. Additionally, these findings have had direct analytical application in that manganese(IV) was evaluated as a new reagent for chemiluminescence detection. The oxidations of twenty five organic and inorganic species, with solublised manganese(IV), were found to elicit analytically useful chemiluminescence with detection limits (3 x S/N) for Mn(II), Fe(II), morphine and codeine of 5 x 10-8 M, 2.5 x 10-7 M, 7.5 x 10-8 M and 5 x 10-8M, respectively. The corrected emission spectra from four different analytes gave wavelengths of maximum emission in the range from 733 nm up to 740 nm indicating that these chemiluminescence reactions also shared a common emitting species, excited manganese(II). Whilst several analytical problems were addressed in this thesis and answers to certain questions regarding the fundamentals of acidic potassium permanganate chemiluminescence were proposed, there are several areas that would benefit from further research. These are outlined in the final chapter of this thesis.

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A new approach for studying thermal phase separation in sodium borosilicate glasses using Mn('2+) as a luminescent probe is investigated. Seventy-one samples of glasses activated by Mn('2+) inside and around the Na(,2)O(.)B(,2)O(,3)(.)SiO(,2) miscibility gaps were prepared. These samples were then phase separated by dry thermal treatment. / It is shown that on addition of MnO, the ternary Na(,2)O(.)B(,2)O(,3)(.)SiO(,2) system behaved like other quaternary systems of the type X(,2)O(.)MO(.)B(,2)O(,3)(.)SiO(,2) (X = Na, K; M = Mg, Ca, Ba, Zn). Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis demonstrated that manganese concentrates preferentially in the boron-rich phase. This analysis, in conjunction with a comparison of Mn('2+) emission spectra of unheated and heat-treated glasses shows that the glasses are submicroscopically phase separated when prepared. The decay-time analysis of Mn('2+) luminescence indicates that the low energy emission band arises from Mn('2+) in the boron-rich phase while the high energy emission is due to Mn('2+) in the silica-rich phase. The difference in the crystal field parameters obtained from the excitation spectra of the two emission bands shows that the high energy emission band is from Mn('2+) in tetrahedral sites while the low energy emission band is from Mn('2+) in an octahedral environment.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-53) Also available in print.

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published_or_final_version / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy

A detailed study is made on the luminescence of Pb('2+) ions in alkali halide single crystals. The emission spectra of KX:Pb('2+) (X = Cl, Br, I) excited in the A-absortpion band at various temperatures are reported. In addition, the excitation spectra of the A-band emission measured at 4.2 and 78 K are also given. The temperature dependence and the effect of an external magnetic field on the decay time of the A-band emission from KX:Pb('2+) is also investigated. / The results are interpreted in terms of a model that includes the Jahn-Teller effect, the spin-orbit interaction and an additional perturbation caused by the charge compensating cation vacancy (CV, v(,c)('-)). In this model, the Jahn-Teller effect is much smaller than the spin-orbit interaction and the CV is smaller still. The experimental results for KX:Pb('2+) are well in accord with this model. / The angular dependence of the polarization of the A-band emission from KX:Pb('2+) confirms that the Pb('2+) - v(,c)('-) pair is located on the C(,4) crystallographic axis. The temperature dependence of the polarization is treated within the framework of the above model in terms of the nonradiative processes between the relaxed excited states.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:35:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-03-05Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:06:33Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 duarte_ap_dr_araiq.pdf: 8458185 bytes, checksum: 4c4165ee9f06459dcc2e5293c42a8a1d (MD5) / Este trabalho apresenta a síntese, caracterização e estudo das propriedades de fotoluminescência de híbridos à base de sílica e complexos európio (III). Estes híbridos, também, foram funcionalizados e testados como sondas ou biomarcadores. A associação do íon európio à matrizes inorgânicas (alumina, sílica) e orgânicas (PMMA), tem sido amplamente estudada. Entretanto, o estudo de diferentes metodologias de síntese são ainda necessárias para otimizar propriedades físico-químicas, incluíndo as propriedades luminescentes destes materiais. Neste sentido, a presente tese propõe a síntese de dois novos luminóforos à base de sílica, via ligação covalente de complexos de Eu3+ à matriz, impedindo, desta forma, processos indesejados de lixiviação. Estes novos complexos de európio (III) devem apresentar ligantes com função alcooxisilanos, e uma estrutura eletrônica que possibilite a eficiente transferência de energia não radiativa (“efeito de antena”) Ligante ® Eu3+, otimizando propriedades luminescentes. Além do ligante bipiridina (Bpy-Si) já conhecido na literatura, desenvolvido no CIRIMAT-Toulouse, o novo ligante alcoóxi modificado b-dicetona (TTA-Si) foi sintetizado nessa tese, gerando neste trabalho uma família composta de três complexos de európio (III): [Eu(TMHD)3(Bpy-Si)], [Eu (TTA)3(Bpy-Si)] e [Eu (TTA-Si)3], que serão citados no texto sob as siglas [Eu1], [Eu2] e [Eu3], respectivamente. A ancoragem dos complexos superficialmente à sílica foi realizada sobre duas matrizes diferentes: primeiro, nanopartículas de sílica densas, 24 ± 2 nm (Ludox AS-40), e segundo, matrizes de sílica mesoporosas. A sílica mesoporosa foi sintetizada pela metodologia de pirólise de aerossol, um método (one step) capaz de produzir partículas mesoporosas em poucos minutos, sem resíduos de surfactante e... / Ce travail décrit la synthèse, la caratérisation et l’étude des propriétés de photoluminescence d’hybrides à base de silice et de complexes d’europium(III). Ces hybrides sont ensuite organiquement modifiés pour illustrer leur application potentielle en tant que sondes ou biomarqueurs. Associer les très bonnes propriétés de luminescence des complexes de lanthanides avec les propriétés physico-chimiques d’une matrice inorganique telle que la silice est une voie prometteuse pour l’obtention de nouveaux outils d’analyse pour la biologie. La silice, SiO2, est une excellente matrice inorganique qui, sous forme de particules submicroniques voire même nanométriques, puisqu’elle permet à la fois de concentrer le luminophore tout en le protégeant des perturbations externes susceptibles d’inhiber le processus de luminescence. De plus la modification de la surface des particules de silice via une fonctionnalisation par voie chimique rend ces nouveaux hybrides biocompatibles, adaptés à leur mise en suspension en milieu aqueux et donc intéressants pour l’analyse des milieux biologiques. Dans cette optique l’obtention de particules dont la taille reste inferieure à 100 nm est une condition qui s’impose et qui nécessite de développer de nouveaux hybrides organique-inorganiques. C’est dans ce cadre que se situe ce travail de thèse. Les lanthanides voient leurs propriétés de luminescence exaltées par la présence dans leur sphère de coordination de chromophores organiques. Depuis une dizaine d’années l’association de chélates d’europium(III) dans des matrices inorganiques (silice, alumine) et organiques (PMMA) a fait l’objet d’un très grand nombre d’études pour lesquelles les conditions de synthèse ne sont pas bien contrôlées conduisant à des hybrides... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

The design and applications of quantum dots (QDs) as fluorescent probes for analyte sensing is presented. Cadmium based thiol-capped QDs were employed as probe for the detection of analytes. Comparative studies between core CdTe and core-shell CdTe@ZnS QDs showed that the overall sensitivity and selectivity of the sensor was dependent on the nature of the capping agent and the QDs employed, hence making CdTe@ZnS QDs a more superior sensor than the core. To explore the luminescent sensing of QDs based on the fluorescence “turn ON” mode, L-glutathione-capped CdTe QDs was conjugated to 4-amino-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxide (4AT) to form a QDs-4AT conjugate system. The QDs-4AT nanoprobe was highly selective and sensitive to the detection of bromide ion with a very low limit of detection. Subsequently, metallo-phthalocyanines (MPcs) were employed as host molecules on the surface of QDs based on the covalent linking of the QDs to the MPc. Elucidation of the reaction mechanism showed that the fluorescence “turn ON” effect of the QDs-MPc probe in the presence of the analyte was due to axial ligation of the analytes to the Pc ring. Studies showed that the type of substituent attached to the MPc ring influenced the overall sensitivity of the probe. Additionally, a comparative investigation using newly synthesized phthalocyanine and triaza-benzcorrole complexes was conducted when these complexes were conjugated to CdSe@ZnS QDs for analyte sensing. Results showed that the triaza-benzcorrole complex can be employed as a host-molecule sensor but displayed a lower sensitivity for analyte sensing in comparison to the phthalocyanine complex.