A novel ratiometric sensor for fluorimetric and visual dual-mode detection of Al3+ in environmental water based on the target-regulated formation of Eu MOFs

Abstract

Herein, a novel ratiometric sensor for fluorimetric and smartphone-assisted visual detection of Al³⁺ in environmental water was developed based on the target-regulated formation of Eu metal–organic frameworks (Eu MOFs). By employing 2-[4-(2-hydroxyethyl) piperazin-1-yl] ethanesulfonic acid (Hepes), Eu³⁺ and tetracycline (TC) as raw materials, Eu MOFs with red emission were facilely synthesized through the coordination of Eu³⁺ with Hepes and TC. However, upon the introduction of Al³⁺, a higher affinity of TC towards Al³⁺ resulted in the formation of a TC–Al³⁺ complex with green fluorescence and inhibited the generation of Eu MOFs. This led to an increase in green fluorescence and a decrease in red fluorescence accompanied by the fluorescence color of the solution changing from red to green under the illumination of the UV lamp. Thus, a ratiometric sensor for fluorimetric and the smartphone-assisted visual detection of Al³⁺ was established. The ratiometric sensor exhibited high sensitivity for Al³⁺ detection with a detection limit of 0.14 μM for fluorescence detection and 1.21 μM for visual detection. Additionally, the proposed strategy was successfully applied to detect Al³⁺ in the environmental water samples with satisfactory results, indicating great application prospects for environmental monitoring.