Metal-Organic Gel as a Fluorescence Sensing Platform to Trace Copper (II)

Metal-organic gel (MOG), as a novel type of metallic organic hybrid material, exhibits diverse properties. However, the applications in fluorescence detection for specific metal ion have rarely been exploited. In this work, we have designed and synthesized a MOG based on Al-carboxylate coordination assemblies (donated as MOG-Al). The resulted MOG-Al shows good specific fluorescence signal response to trace Cu2+. Under optimal conditions, the fluorescence quenching degrees (F0 - F) of the MOG-Al are linear correlation with the Cu2+ concentration ranging from 0.05 to 100.00 μM, and the limit of detection (LOD) is 45.00 nM. The proposed sensing platform was also applied for the detection of Cu2+ in real samples. Furthermore, satisfactory recoveries (92%-116%) for Cu2+ in rice, soybean milk powder and pork liver were obtained. These results indicate that the MOG-Al is a promising material for the specific and sensitive sensing of Cu2+.