Optical sensing of aqueous boron based on polymeric hydroxytriphenylene derivatives

Abstract

The detection of boron in natural water and wastewaters is still limited to a few methods, requiring a compromise between sensitivity, reliability and accessibility. Here we present a novel polymeric fluorescent boron sensor with excellent water solubility, boron sensitivity, ease of handling, which can be easily recovered and reused. The new off–on fluorescent boron sensor is able to detect and quantify ppb amounts of boron in water, with a limit of detection of 10 ppb of boron, both for boric acid and phenylboronic acid. The sensor was prepared by copolymerizing methacrylic acid with a polymerizable asymmetric hexa-substituted triphenylene, obtained by oxidative cyclization of biphenyl and catechol precursors.