A facile and sensitive fluorescent sensor using electrospun nanofibrous film for nitroaromatic explosive detection

A newly developed electrospun nanofibrous film sensor based on tetrakis(4-methoxylphenyl)porphyrin (TMOPP) and polystyrene showed favorable fluorescence sensing performance towards four nitroaromatic explosives. The morphology of nanofibers was uniform with diameters of 300–400 nm. The sensing nanofibrous film possessed satisfactory reproducibility amongst three batches, reversibility with loss of sensing signal only ∼10% after six quenching-regeneration cycles, and selectivity to give minimal response to common interferents. Using amine modification as a new approach and by introducing a porogen, the nanofibrous film sensor exhibited a highly sensitive response towards parts-per-billion levels of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene vapor, and parts-per-trillion levels of picric acid vapor, respectively. This work provides a facile and promising strategy to construct portable optical devices for nitroaromatic explosive detection.