A Highly Sensitive “ON-OFF” Optical Sensor for the Selective Detection of Cyanide Ions in 100% aqueous solutions Based on Hydrogen Bonding and Water Assisted Aggregation Induced Emission

Nanoparticles NanoN,N'-(pyridine-2,6-diyl)bis(2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetamide) (1) exhibited “on-off” emission response toward cyanide (CN¯) ion in 100% aqueous solutions based on AIE feature. AIEgen 1 is an ease-of-use probe having rapid response (5s), extremely sensitivity (LOD = 8.2 nM) and excellent selectivity. The sensing performance of CN¯ through the test kit and the bitter seed solution was successful. The experimental results show that compound 1 is planar and can self-assemble to a supramolecular system and show blue emission. Then, CN¯ destroys both hydrogen bonds and the aggregates of 1 and quenches the emission. This process is reversible by the addition of HCl solution.