Conjugated polymer based fluorescent probes for metal ions

Metal ions perform significant functions in organisms, while metal pollution does harm to the environment and ultimately affects human health. As a result, the metal ions sensing and monitoring techniques have been the research hotspot in the past decades. Among the different sensing techniques, fluorescent probes utilizing conjugated polymers (CPs) have advantages on metal ions detection, such as high sensitivity, high selectivity and low cost. This work contains a summary of studies about conjugated polymer based sensors towards various metal ions that have been carried out in the last 10 years. Moreover, we put forward some private opinions and outlooks into how this area is developing, and significant challenges to be surmounted. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Metal ions play important roles in organisms, but metal pollution can harm the environment and human health. In recent decades, the sensing and monitoring techniques for metal ions have been a research hotspot, with fluorescent probes utilizing conjugated polymers showing advantages in detection. Studies in the past 10 years have focused on conjugated polymer-based sensors for various metal ions, while also discussing the development and challenges in this area.