A calixarene-based coordination cage as an efficient luminescent sensor for Fe3+, MnO4−, NB and 2,4-DNP in aqueous medium†
Abstract
A luminescent coordination cage formulated as {Mg24(TC4A)6(BTC)8(H2O)6} (SWU-2, H4TC4A = p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene, H3BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid) was successfully synthesized by the assembly of Mg4-TC4A units with BTC ligands. SWU-2 shows excellent fluorescence characteristics in aqueous solution and in the solid state. Luminescence sensing experiments indicated that SWU-2 exhibits obvious fluorescence quenching for Fe3+, MnO4,− nitrobenzene (NB) and 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP) in aqueous medium and can be regarded as a high sensitivity sensor for detecting Fe3+, MnO4−, NB and 2,4-DNP.