Facile fabrication of molecularly imprinted cavities in spin-coated TiO2 nanofilms

Molecularly imprinted TiO2 nanofilms were prepared by spin coating, and the influence of template/matrix precursor ratio was examined. The imprinted films including 10 to 40 times matrix precursor, Ti(O-(BU)-B-n)(4), provided efficient and selective binding as compared to those of low matrix precursor ratios. The highest binding and selectivity were observed by a TiO2. film imprinted with 5 mM AzoCO(2)H and 100 mM Ti(O-(BU)-B-n)(4), with template selectivities of 1.6 and 2.1 against 2-AnCO(2)H- and 9-AnCO(2)H-imprinted films, respectively.