A dansyl group modified SBA-15 INHIBIT logic gate with [Hg2+ and Cl-] or [Hg2+ and Br-] as inputs

Abstract We developed a SBA-15-based INHIBIT logic gate (DA-SBA-15) which was prepared by covalent immobilization of a dansylamide derivative into the channels of the mesoporous silica material (SBA-15) via (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) groups. A series of characteristic results proved that the fluorescent ligand was successfully grafted into the mesopores of SBA-15. The fluorescent characterization revealed excellent selectivity of DA-SBA-15 to the Hg 2+ ion. Moreover, DA-SBA-15 can be considered as a selective fluorescent probe for Cl − and Br − . The fluorescent changes of DA-SBA-15 upon the addition of ions (Hg 2+ , Cl − and Br − ) were utilized as an INH logic gate at the molecular level, using [Hg 2+ and Cl − ] or [Hg 2+ and Br − ] as chemical inputs and the fluorescence intensity signal as output.