Immobilization of Bromocresol Purple in Inorganic-Organic Sol-Gel Thin Film with Presence of Anionic and Non-ionic Surfactants

Sol-gel materials known as organically modified silicates (ORMOSILs) offer interesting features such as chemical and mechanical stability. In this paper VTES (vinyltriethoxysilane) and TEOS (tetraalkoxysilane) are mixed in 3:1 ratio. Sol-gel solution was prepared by hydrolysis process of precursors by using ethanol as solvent. After a while a pH-sensitive indicator bromocresol purple (BCP) and surfactant were incorporate into the sol-gel mixture. The percentage of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) which act as surfactant were varied to observe the effect of improving host material's nanostructure as well as the interaction between BCP and sol-gel matrices. The absorption peak of the BCP dye changed significantly in the presence of surfactant compared to pure VTES: TEOS mixture (control) in the range of 400 to 450 nm. The presence of BCP dye in the sol-gel mixture can be determined via FTIR spectrum with a =C–H stretch in aromatics observed at 3100-3000 cm^-1 which represented the aromatic of the BCP structure. The addition of BCP and surfactant had influenced the FTIR spectra of VTES: TEOS sol-gel materials. Addition of an anionic surfactant to the sol-gel mixtures was found to increase the BCP dye and the sol-gel matrices interaction, thus reducing the dye's tendency to leach. This work shows that sol-gel derived matrices yield dyes with sufficient rigid environment and addition of the surfactant helps to improve the interaction of filler matrices. The anionic SDS shows better leaching resistant compared to non-ionic PEG surfactant. Results of this study offer an attractive possibility to optimize the doped sol gel matrices to be used as sensing material in aqueous condition.