Chemiluminescence Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide with a Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIM-1) Solid State Emitter

The intrinsically microporous polymer PIM-1 provides a highly porous and simultaneously fluorescent/emissive host structure for analytical processes. Trichlorophenoloxalate (TCPO; a reagent for excited state intermediate formation with H2O2) has been embedded into PIM-1 (the microporous host) by codeposition. TCPO reacts with imidazole buffer and traces of hydrogen peroxide diffusing into the microporous host to give an excited state intermediate and energy transfer to the fluorescent PIM-1. This causes effective (electro)-chemiluminescence (ECL or CL) emission in the solid state for microporous films deposited on graphene foam (ECL) or for films on filter paper (CL) with diffusion-limited (Cottrellian) signal decay. On graphene foam electrodes/substrates, the formation of hydrogen peroxide from electrochemical oxygen reduction triggers electrochemiluminescence (ECL). On filter paper substrates with PIM-1/TCPO films, direct exposure to hydrogen peroxide triggers chemiluminescence (CL) emission spectra (equivalent to PIM-1 fluorescence spectra). Hydrogen peroxide mediated detection of glucose is demonstrated and suggested as an effective/potentially reagentless analytical method for a broader range of application linked to quantitative H2O2 analysis.