Oxygen-sensing materials based on [Ru(bpy)3]2+ covalently grafted MSU-3 mesoporous molecular sieves

Novel oxygen-sensing materials consisting of [Ru(bpy)2(Bpy-Si)]2+ portions covalently grafted onto the backbone of MSU-3 mesostructured silica-based network were prepared in a two-step process with the help of P123 surfactant. The 2,2′-bipyridyl covalently grafted with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane was used not only as sol–gel precursor but also as the second ligand of the Ru(bpy)2Cl2·2H2O complex for the preparation of sol–gel-derived silicates for oxygen-sensing materials. The downward oxygen-sensing Stern–Volmer plots can be attributed to the heterogeneous environment of the luminophore within the MSU-3 silica. The MSU-3 sample obtained at 10 °C showed better oxygen-sensing performance due to its special morphology.