A novel strong AIE bi-component hydrogel as a multi-functional supramolecular fluorescent material

Abstract Multi-functional supramolecular fluorescent materials are an intriguing concern for materials science. Herein, an easily prepared bi-component hydrogel with strong aggregation-induced emission (AIE) ( MQ - G ) was successfully constructed by the gelators naphthalimide derivative ( M ) and tri-(pyridine-4-yl)-functionalized trimesic amide ( Q ) in DMSO-H 2 O (6 : 4, v/v) via π−π, hydrogen bond and π−electron donor-acceptor interactions. The obtained bi-component hydrogel MQ - G has an excellent self-healing property. Interestingly, the MQ - G exhibits strong orange AIE, the fluorescence quantum yield of the MQ - G was measured as 0.578. Moreover, the MQ - G could successively sense Fe 3+ and H 2 PO 4 − in water through a fluorescent “ON-OFF-ON” pathway, which suggests the MQ - G could serve as an “ON-OFF-ON” fluorescent material and efficient logic gate. Meanwhile, the xerogel of MQ - G is capable of removing Fe 3+ at an adsorption rate of 99.74% in diluted aqueous solution. Moreover, the thin films based on the MQ - G and MQ - G  + Fe 3+ were also prepared, which could not only act as supramolecular fluorescent material but a simple and efficient tool for detection Fe 3+ and H 2 PO 4 − , respectively.