A new water-soluble polymer fluorescent chemosensor with thiophene Schiff base site for selectively sensing Al3+ ions

A new thiophene Schiff base-based fluorescent turn-on chemosensor PEGSB was developed to efficiently detect Al3+ in water. PEGSB exhibited highly selective and sensitive fluorescence response toward Al3+ even in the presence of other competitive metal ions. The detection limit of PEGSB was calculated to be 1.32 x 10(-8) M. The binding stoichiometry of PEGSB-Al3+ was found to be 1:1 by Job's plot analysis. PEGSB showed excellently sensing capability towards Al3+ in a wide pH range from 5 to 9. In addition, PEGSB displayed a better reversibility for Al3+ detection with the aid of EDTA. An INHIBIT logic gate was constructed by using Al3+ and EDTA as input signals and the fluorescence intensity at 444 nm as output signal. Furthermore, test papers containing PEGSB were fabricated for convenient and rapid detection of Al3+ in real water samples. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A new fluorescent chemosensor PEGSB based on thiophene Schiff base has been developed for efficient detection of aluminum ions in water, showing high selectivity and sensitivity even in the presence of competitive metal ions. The sensor displayed excellent sensing capability for aluminum ions over a wide pH range and demonstrated improved reversibility for aluminum ion detection with EDTA. An INHIBIT logic gate was successfully constructed using aluminum ions and EDTA as input signals with fluorescence intensity at 444 nm as the output signal. Additionally, test papers with PEGSB were fabricated for convenient and rapid detection of aluminum ions in real water samples.