ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
Researchers at the University of Buea, in Cameroon, designed this color-changing chemical sensor. The metal-organic framework (MOF) material, {[Co(34pba)2(H2O)]·1/2DMF·H2O}n, absorbs a range of solvent vapors and responds with a characteristic color change (list below). The material gets its hue-shifting prowess from a phenomenon called solvatochromism, in which the solvent changes the chemical environment around the cobalt ions. The MOF could see use in workplace safety equipment and other applications involving the detection of hazardous solvent vapors.
The MOF before (center) and after exposure to solvents: (a) dichloromethane, (b) chloroform, (c) 1,1,1-trichloroethane, (d) trichloroethylene, (e) chlorobenzene, (f) methanol, (g) ethanol, (h) water, (i) 1,4-dioxane, (j) acetone, (k) DMF, (l) DMA, (m) DMSO.
Credit: Cryst. Growth Des. 2018, DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.7b01417
Do science. Take pictures. Win money. Enter our photo contest here.
Related C&EN Content:
For more Chemistry in Pictures, visit our new home on cen.acs.org.
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on X