TY - JOUR AB - The structure and physical properties of a thin titania sol-gel layer prepared on silicon and silica surfaces were examined. Spectroscopic (FTIR, UV-VIS spectroscopy), refractive index (ellipsometry) and microscopic (light microscopy and SEM/EDS) tools were used to examine both chemical uniformity and physical uniformity of the sol-gel glass layers. The conditions for the fabrication of uniform layers were established, and room temperature dopant incorporation was examined. The absorption bands of porphyrin-containing titania sol-gel layers were characterized. By addition of a metal salt to the titania layer, it was possible to metallate the free-base porphyrin within and change the UV-VIS absorbance of the porphyrin, the basis of metal detection using porphyrins. The metalloporphyrins were detected by localized laser ablation inductive coupled mass spectroscopy (LA-ICP-MS), indicating fairly uniform distribution of metals across the titania surface. © 2012 The Author(s). AU - Huyang, G AU - Canning, J AU - Petermann, I AU - Bishop, D AU - McDonagh, A AU - Crossley, MJ DA - 2013/06/01 DO - 10.1007/s13320-012-0075-2 EP - 177 JO - Photonic Sensors PY - 2013/06/01 SP - 168 TI - Room temperature sol-gel fabrication and functionalization for sensor applications VL - 3 Y1 - 2013/06/01 Y2 - 2024/03/29 ER -