Fluorescence-based detection is one of the most efficient and cost-effective methods for detecting hazardous, aqueous Hg2+. We designed a fluorescent porous organic polymer (TPA-POP-TSC), with a "fluorophore" backbone and a thiosemicarbazide "receptor" for Hg2+-targeted sensing. Nanometer-sized TPA-POP-TSC spheres (nanoPOP) were synthesized under mini-emulsion conditions and showed excellent solution processability and dispersity in aqueous solution. The nanoPOP sensor exhibits exceptional sensitivity (Ksv = 1.01 × 106 M-1) and outstanding selectivity for Hg2+ over other ions with rapid response and full recyclability. Furthermore, the nanoPOP material can be easily coated onto a paper substrate to afford naked eye-based Hg2+-detecting test strips that are convenient, inexpensive, fast, highly sensitive, and reusable. Our design takes advantage of the efficient and selective capture of Hg2+ by thiosemicarbazides (binding energy = -29.84 kJ mol-1), which facilitates electron transfer from fluorophore to bound receptor, quenching the sensor's fluorescence.
Keywords: binding energy; nanoPOP; porous organic polymers; self-consistent framework.