Reaction-based AIEE-active conjugated polymer as fluorescent turn on probe for mercury ions with good sensing performance

Abstract Based on Hg 2+ -promoted deprotection reaction of thioketal, a type of thioketal decorated conjugated polymer ( PTS ) with the feature of aggregation induced emission enhancement (AIEE) was successfully synthesized as fluorescent turn on probe for Hg 2+ . With the introduction of trace aqueous Hg 2+ , fluorescence of PTS in THF-H 2 O mixture (water fraction of 98%) exhibited significant enhancement. The response was very fast with good selectivity towards Hg 2+ due to the specific chemical reaction. Other common metal ions (Ag + , Cr 3+ , Al 3+ , Fe 3+ , Ca 2+ , Ni 2+ , Co 2+ , Pb 2+ , Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ , Mg 2+ , Fe 2+ , Mn 2+ , Cd 2+ , Ba 2+ , Li + , Na + and K + ) gave nearly no disturbance to the sensing process. Furthermore, the detection limit of Hg 2+ reached 2.3 × 10 −7  mol L −1 for this sensing system.