Ultra-sensitive optical oxygen sensors for characterization of nearly anoxic systems

Oxygen quantification in trace amounts is essential in many fields of science and technology. Optical oxygen sensors proved invaluable tools for oxygen measurements in a broad concentration range, but until now neither optical nor electrochemical oxygen sensors were able to quantify oxygen in the sub-nanomolar concentration range. Herein we present new optical oxygen-sensing materials with unmatched sensitivity. They rely on the combination of ultra-long decaying (several 100 ms lifetime) phosphorescent boron- and aluminium-chelates, and highly oxygen-permeable and chemically stable perfluorinated polymers. The sensitivity of the new sensors is improved up to 20-fold compared with state-of-the-art analogues. The limits of detection are as low as 5 p.p.b., volume in gas phase under atmospheric pressure or 7 pM in solution. The sensors enable completely new applications for monitoring of oxygen in previously inaccessible concentration ranges.