Abstract
Exposure to the odorless or colorless nerve agents can result in organ paralysis, failure, or even death. Novel nanocomposite-based microporous strips that can be used with the naked eye to detect diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) nerve agent mimic within a few seconds have been developed. A simple preparation procedure was used to prepare novel quinoline-bearing hydrazone-type tricyanofuran (QHTCF) chromophore via an azo-coupling of 8-aminoquinoline diazonium salt with the active methyl-containing tricyanofuran. The chemical structure of QHTCF was inspected with FTIR, H-1/(CNMR)-C-13, and elemental analysis. An environmentally friendly procedure was employed to prepare microfibrillated cellulose from sugarcane bagasse agricultural waste that has been one of the most well-known solid pollutants worldwide. Therefore, it has been highly significant to find out a simple procedure to exchange sugarcane bagasse into valuable materials. Microfibrillated cellulose/polyvinyl alcohol/hydrazone (PVA-MFC-H) composites were prepared using different concentrations of QHTCF chromophore. With an increase in DFP concentration, the absorption intensity of the QHTCF-containing nanocomposite rose from 426 to 562 nm. A wide range of detection limit was monitored for DFP using the current PVA-MFC-H sensor strip. The CIE Lab measurements demonstrated a yellow-to-purple color shift of PVA-MFC-H upon exposure to DFP. The current PVA-MFC-H strip demonstrated a detection limit for DFP in the range of 25-300 ppm. The current sensors were tested for their morphologies, fiber crystallinity, thermal stability, and mechanical characteristics.