Memorization of coordination environments in ultrathin titania films

We have previously demonstrated that metal oxide ultrathin films, by themselves, can produce imprinted cavities for organic molecules. In the present study, memorization of the coordination environments of metal ions was achieved by incorporation of diamine chelating ligands in thin films of metal oxides. The films imprinted with Cu2+ or Zn2 + showed selective binding to the template over the control metal ion. The selectivity is attributed to the immobilized geometry of ethylenediamine ligands. The ligand that is doubly linked to the matrix showed enhanced stability of binding capacity relative to that of a singly linked ethylenediamine ligand.