A smart organic gel template as metal cation and inorganic anion sensor

Abstract

A carboxamide based molecule has shown unique gelation property in an aqueous mixture of DMF or DMSO. The gel itself has shown aggregation-induced fluorescence enhanced emission (AIEE), which can be utilized effectively in sensing ferrous and ferric ions as both of them switch off the fluorescence completely. An investigation by IR spectroscopy reveals an enhanced π interaction of nitrile group with the iron center and this could be the possible reason behind the complete quenching of AIEE. This molecule was further investigated for the formation of metallogels for a wide array of cations, which in turn can act in tandem to behave as a dynamic array to detect several anions by either switching off or switching on the emission property of the metallogels. © 2017 The Royal Society of Chemistry.