A charged iridophosphor for time-resolved luminescent CO₂ gas identification

A phosphorescent CO₂ gas probe based on an iridium(iii) complex with 2-phenylimidazo-[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline ligand has been developed. Its phosphorescence is quenched by the addition of CH₃COO^-. The quenched phosphorescence can be recovered by bubbling CO₂ into the detecting solution. This phosphorescent CO₂ probe exhibits higher photostability and reduced photobleaching than some of the reported organic fluorescent probes. A time-resolved photoluminescence experiment was performed for CO₂ gas detection, which could effectively remove the background fluorescence and improve the sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio of the sensor in complicated media.