Novel bispillar[5]arene-based AIEgen and its' application in mercury(II) detection

By connecting amide-functionalized pillar[5] arene with terephthalaldehyde through a condensation reaction, a novel AIEgen (QS) based on bispillar[5] arene was designed and synthesized, it showed strong aggregationinduced emission (AIE) in DMSO/H2O binary solutions and fluorescence quantum yield is 21%. The QS could act as an AIE-based sensor and sensitively fluorescent sense Hg2+ in water. The detection limit of QS for Hg2+ is 4.3x10(-8) M, moreover, other cations didn't interfere in the sensing processes. The Hg2+ sensing mechanism was based on coordination between Hg2+ and QS. Meanwhile, QS-based thin film was prepared, which could act as fluorescent display material and test kit for convenient detection mercury ions in water. In addition, the QS could efficiently separate Hg2+ in water for potential practical applications.