Photocharacterization of a novel fluorescent Schiff Base and investigation of its utility as an optical Fe3+ sensor in PVC matrix

In this work photoluminescent properties of the newly synthesized Schiff base; N-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-3,5-di-t-butyl salicylaldimine (DBS) were investigated in different solvents (dichloromethane (DCM), tetrahydrofuran (THF) and ethanol (EtOH)) and in a polymer matrix (polyvinyl chloride (PVC)) by absorption and emission spectroscopies. Quantum yield (?{symbol}F), Stoke's shift (? ?ST ; nm) and molar extinction coefficient (? ; cm- 1 M- 1) of the DBS dye were declared. PVC doped dye was found to exhibit a significant response for Fe3+ in direction of decrease in fluorescence intensity. The response to Fe3+ ions was evaluated in terms of the effect of pH, salinity and cross sensitivity to other cations. The response time, reversibility, limit of detection, linear concentration range for the metal ion and repeatability characteristics of the sensing reagent also have been studied. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.