Highly sensitive detection of ions and dopamine molecules by a hydrogen-bonded organic framework

Hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) represent an emerging class of porous crystalline materials, have attracted growing interest in the field of fluorescence sensing area due to their distinctive luminescent characteristics, large surface area and abundant recognition sites. Herein, the porous material HOF-BTB-NH2 featuring one-dimensional pore structure was successfully synthesized through hydrogen-bonding self-assembly using the organic building molecule 2,4,6-Tris(4-carboxyphenyl)aniline (BTB-NH2) in methanol. HOF-BTB-NH2 showed excellent sensitivity and selectivity for metal ion Cu2+ and anion CO32-, and the limits of detection (LOD) reached 0.23 mu M and 0.33 mu M, respectively. In addition, HOF-BTB-NH2 was employed as a biosensing material for the highly selective and sensitive detection of dopamine (DA). The synthesis of porous HOF-BTB-NH2 and the excellent sensing performance greatly expanded the application of hydrogen-bonded organic framework materials in fluorescence sensing. + image