Optical molecular thermometer based on the fluorescence of fullerene dispersed in poly(methyl methacrylate) film

A new optical molecular thermometer based on the fluorescence intensities of the fullerene C-60 dispersed in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) film was developed. The fluorescence intensity of the C-60 film decreased with increasing the temperature in the range from 260 to 373 K. The Arrhenius plot of ln[(I(T)/I(T-ref))] versus 1/T for the C-60 film exhibits considerable linearity supported by the correlation factor, r(2), estimated to be 0.989 by the least squares method (T-ref = 260 K). The E/R value of the C-60 film is estimated to be 22.3 K. These results indicate that the C-60 film provides a linear temperature response in the range 260 to 373 K.