Chemical sensitivity of supramolecular porphyrins assemblies

AbstractMetalloporphyrins are used as sensitive materials for many different kinds of chemical sensors. The sensitivity of these molecules is usually correlated with their structure and in particular with the kind of metal ion, aromatic system, and peripheral substituents. Metalloporphyrins can easily self-assemble, via weak forces, to form ordered supramolecular aggregations endowed with defined geometries (e.g. tubes or rods). In addition to the single molecule sensitivity, supramolecular assemblies can be endowed with additional properties that can increase the sensitivity towards selected species. As a result, assemblies may show sensing properties different, and in some case exceeding, those of their molecular constituents