A novel tetraphenylethene-based fluorescent sensor for uranyl ion detection with aggregation-induced emission character. (July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lin, Na; Ren, Wensheng; Hu, Jianing; Gao, Bo; Yuan, Dengpeng; Wang, Xiaolong; Fu, Jun
• Is Part Of: Dyes and pigments. Volume 166(2019)
• Page Start: 182
• Page End: 188
• Publication Date: 2019-07
• Subjects: Aggregation-induced emission -- Fluorescent sensor -- Uranyl ion detection -- Fluorescence spectrometry; Dyes and dyeing -- Periodicals; Pigments -- Periodicals; 667.2
• DOI: 10.1016/j.dyepig.2019.02.048
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0143-7208

Abstract

Abstract: Facile and efficient approaches for uranyl ion detection without tedious sample pretreatment and sophisticated instrumentation are in great demand in environmental monitoring and mitigation. In this work, a novel fluorescent sensor TPE-BSA with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) character was designed and synthesized for the uranyl ion detection, by incorporating salophen moiety into the AIE-active tetraphenylethene moiety. Fluorescence titrimetric studies revealed that TPE-BSA could detect uranyl ion in a simple way owing to the quenching of its aggregation-induced emission, with the limit of detection as low as 0.039 μM. According to the results of particle size distribution analysis, 1 H NMR, Job's plot analysis, quantum chemical calculations and fluorescence lifetime measurement, the fluorescence quenching of TPE-BSA upon addition of uranyl ion could be ascribed to the complexation of TPE-BSA and uranyl ion as well as the heavy atom effect of uranyl ion. Furthermore, TPE-BSA was successfully used for the quantification of uranyl ion in drinking water, demonstrating that TPE-BSA has the potential to be employed in the detection of uranyl ion in the environmental system as an AIE-active sensor. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: ● A novel fluorescent sensor TPE-BSA for the uranyl ion detection was reported. ● TPE-BSA exhibited aggregation-induced emission character. ● TPE-BSA showed high sensitivity, good selectivity and wide effective pH range.