Liquid crystal porphyrins as chemically sensitive coating materials for chemical sensors

Columnar liquid crystal porphyrin compounds have been deposited onto the gold pads of quartz crystal microbalances (QMBs). The sensitivities of the resulting sensors have been measured with respect to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and have been found to be of interest for future applications. The results show a strong influence of the length of the side alkyl chains, furthermore the thermal history of the coated film also affects the measured properties. The partition coefficients of the coatings have been calculated from the sensor responses.