High-performance polyethylene dissolved oxygen sensor with a petallike surface

Dissolved oxygen (DO) level is of capital importance in the field of environmental monitoring, food fermentation, industrial production, and clinical medicine. Optical oxygen sensors with high sensitivity, accuracy, stability, and anti-jamming capability for DO content detection have provoked scientists’ attention in recent years. In this work, we selected platinum octaethylporphine (PtOEP), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) as the fluorescent indicator and matrix materials, respectively. Porous LDPE/PtOEP and HDPE/PtOEP oxygen-sensing films were constructed by incorporating PtOEP in PE via the phase-separation method. The optimum parameters were obtained as follows: the concentrations of LDPE and HDPE solutions were 0.010 mg/L, and PtOEP was 8 μg. Based on the above study, the effects of different kinds of PE on the performance of the oxygen-sensing film were studied in detail, finding that the LDPE/PtOEP oxygen-sensing film had better photostability and could measure the DO concentrations of several water samples accurately.