Conjugated polymer dots-on-electrospun fibers as a fluorescent nanofibrous sensor for nerve gas stimulant

A novel chemical warfare agent sensor based on conjugated polymer dots (CPdots) immobilized on the surface of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-silica nanofibers was prepared with a dots-on-fibers (DoF) hybrid nanostructure via simple electrospinning and subsequent immobilization processes. We synthesized a polyquinoxaline (PQ)-based CP as a highly emissive sensing probe and employed PVA-silica as a host polymer for the elctrospun fibers. It was demonstrated that the CPdots and amine-functionalized electrospun PVA-silica nanofibers interacted via an electrostatic interaction, which was stable under prolonged mechanical force. Because the CPdots were located on the surface of the nanofibers, the highly emissive properties of the CPdots could be maintained and even enhanced, leading to a sensitive turn-off detection protocol for chemical warfare agents. The prepared fluorescent DoF hybrid was quenched in the presence of a chemical warfare agent simulant, due to the electron transfer between the quinoxaline group in the polymer and the organophosphorous simulant. The detection time was almost instantaneous, and a very low limit of detection was observed (∼1.25 × 10^-6 M) with selectivity over other organophosphorous compounds. The DoF hybrid nanomaterial can be developed as a rapid, practical, portable, and stable chemical warfare agent-detecting system and, moreover, can find further applications in other sensing systems simply by changing the probe dots immobilized on the surface of nanofibers.