Exploring multifunctional applications of a luminescent covalent triazine polymer in acid vapour sensing, CO2 capture, dye removal, and turn-off fluorescence sensing of dichromate ions

Abstract

An ether-linked covalent triazine polymer SMCOP-2 was designed and synthesized. SMCOP-2 evolved as a highly versatile material to address environmental issues of deep concern. SMCOP-2 shows good fluorescence emission when dispersed in water and starts to decline in the presence of carcinogenic dichromate ions and acts as a turn-off fluorescence sensor with a low limit of detection of 4.1 × 10⁻⁴ M. In the presence of acid vapor, SMCOP-2 changes its color from yellow to reddish brown, which makes it an effective colorimetric sensor for detecting acid vapors. SMCOP-2 can effectively resolve water pollution created by the toxic organic dyes, adsorption removal of methyl orange, and photo-catalytic degradation of malachite green. Moreover, it can effectively capture greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. The relevant insights into these versatile applications of SMCOP-2 were also explored using sophisticated experimental techniques and DFT and TD-DFT calculations.