Visible light activated ion sensing using a photoacid polymer for calcium detection

Presented here is a sensing membrane consisting of a modified merocyanine photoacid polymer and a calcium ionophore in plasticized poly(vinyl chloride). This membrane is shown to actively exchange protons with calcium ions when switched ON after illumination at 470 nm, and the exchange can be followed by UV-vis spectroscopy. The sensing membrane shows no response in the ON state when calcium ions are absent. The limit of detection of the sensor is 5.0 × 10(-4) M with an upper detection limit of 1.0 M. Thus, we demonstrate for the first time the use of a visible light activated, lipophilic photoacid polymer in an ion-sensing membrane for calcium ions, which highly discriminates potassium, sodium, and magnesium ions.