Highly selective detection of copper(II) by a “ligand-free” conjugated copolymer in nucleophilic solvents

2020, Volume 14, Issue 1

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Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering >> 2020, Volume 14, Issue 1 doi: 10.1007/s11705-019-1791-6

Highly selective detection of copper(II) by a “ligand-free” conjugated copolymer in nucleophilic solvents

. Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China.. Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505, Japan

Accepted: 2019-04-09 Available online: 2019-04-09

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Abstract

The synthesis of -cyclohexyl carbamate-attached fluorene- -phenylene copolymer (PFPNCC) and the use of PFPNCC as a “ligand-free” fluorescent chemosensor for Cu(II) are described. Addition of Cu(II) can efficiently quench the fluorescence of PFPNCC in nucleophilic solvents such as DMF and DMSO, but not in low nucleophilic solvents such as 1,4-dioxane and THF. Ultraviolet-visible spectra of the mixture of the conjugated polymer and Cu(II) indicate the presence of a reduced Cu(I) ion in the solution. Furthermore, fluorescence recovery of PFPNCC observed at low temperature suggests that the quenching and reducing mechanism is most probably due to a photo-induced electron transfer from excited PFPNCC to Cu(II). Our findings provide a novel strategy for highly selective conjugated polymer-based chemosensors for various target analytes, albeit “ligand-free”.

Keywords

ligand-free ; fluorescent chemosensor ; copper ; photo-induced electron transfer

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