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A facile and sensitive hexahomotrioxacalix[3]arene-based fluorescent sensor for the detection of trace amounts of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol

Liu, Yong Lang; Wu, Lu Fang; Wu, Chong; Rahman, Shofiur; Alodhayb, Abdullah; Redshaw, Carl; Georghiou, Paris E.; Yamato, Takehiko

Authors

Yong Lang Liu

Lu Fang Wu

Chong Wu

Shofiur Rahman

Abdullah Alodhayb

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Professor Carl Redshaw C.Redshaw@hull.ac.uk
Professor of Inorganic Materials Chemistry and REF Lead for Chemistry

Paris E. Georghiou

Takehiko Yamato



Abstract

Nitroaromatic compounds are common explosives and toxic pollutants, the selective and sensitive detection of which is of great importance. Herein, a facile and sensitive fluorescent sensor L was constructed for the sensing of TNP based on the hexahomotrioxacalix[3]arene skeleton. The fluorescence emission of L was drastically quenched in the presence of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP), while other tested NACs, metal ions, and anions induced negligible changes. Under the optimized conditions, the spectroscopic studies revealed that L exhibited extremely sensitive and selective TNP recognition, with a detection limit of 9.17 × 10−7 M and a quenching constant of 2.44 × 104 M−1. The sensitivity of sensor L for TNP was attributed to the formation of a ground-state charge-transfer complex and an inner filter effect, which also contributed to the special selectivity of the sensor among the various nitroaromatic analogues. Compared with previous reports, L can serve as a highly efficient sensor for the sensing of TNP and can be employed over a wide pH range of 2 to 12. Sensor L was effectively used to quantify TNP in real water and soil samples. Additionally, fluorescent test strips were also developed for visual and rapid detection of TNP in both the solution and vapour phases.

Citation

Liu, Y. L., Wu, L. F., Wu, C., Rahman, S., Alodhayb, A., Redshaw, C., Georghiou, P. E., & Yamato, T. (2024). A facile and sensitive hexahomotrioxacalix[3]arene-based fluorescent sensor for the detection of trace amounts of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol. The Science of the total environment, 908, Article 168209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168209

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 27, 2023
Online Publication Date Oct 31, 2023
Publication Date Jan 15, 2024
Deposit Date Dec 2, 2023
Publicly Available Date Nov 1, 2024
Journal Science of the Total Environment
Print ISSN 0048-9697
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 908
Article Number 168209
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168209
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4461841