Development of oxygen and temperature sensitive membranes using molecular probes as ratiometric sensor

In this work we show that, the combination of (i) high mechanical stability (provided by a PS matrix), (ii) high sensitivity and selectivity (provided by a two-dye system of Tris (1,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(II) chloride hydrate (Ru(phen)₃) and 7-Methoxy-4-methylcoumarin) and (iii) high reproducibility in the output signal/response, results in a membrane able for monitoring O₂ and temperature in membrane processes at laboratory and industrial scales.Due to the matched sensitivity of the developed ratiometric probe to oxygen and temperature a simple correction algorithm was implemented, which allows at overcoming the vulnerability of the ratiometric signal to the temperature, leading to a robust evaluation of the oxygen concentration.The impact of introducing this photochemical activity in membranes opens a new perspective for non-invasive monitoring of membrane processes (e.g. measurement of temperature in membrane distillation processes, oxygen measurement for monitoring of biofilm onset and development in reverse osmosis).