Ultrasound-assisted synthesis of a Eu 3+ -functionalized Zn II coordination polymer as a fluorescent dual detection probe for highly sensitive recognition of Hg II and L-Cys.

A new Zn II coordination polymer (CP) based on 2,3-pyrazine dicarboxylic acid (H 2 pzdc) and 4,4'-bipyridine (bpy) (ZCP) was synthesized using a facile slow evaporation method. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealed that ZCP is a two-dimensional porous CP, [Zn 2 (pzdc) 2 (bpy)(H 2 O) 2 ] n , with van der Waals forces as the dominant interaction within its layers forming a 6 3 network. Employing energetic ultrasound irradiation, nanoscale ZCP (nZCP) was successfully synthesized and Eu 3+ ions were incorporated within its host lattice (Eu@nZCP). The resulting platform exhibits superior fluorescence characteristics and demonstrates notable optical durability. Therefore, it was used as a dual detection fluorescent sensing platform for the detection of mercury and L-cysteine (L-Cys) in aqueous media through a turn-off/on strategy. In the turn-off process, the fluorescence emission of Eu@nZCP progressively quenches by the addition of Hg II via a photo-induced electron transfer (PET) mechanism. The fluorescence of Eu@nZCP is quenched to establish a low fluorescence background through the incorporation of Hg II . This devised turn-on fluorescent system is suitable for the recognition of L-Cys (based on the strong affinity of L-Cys to the Hg II ion) through a quencher detachment mechanism. This method attained a relatively wide linear range, spanning from 0.001 to 25 µM, with the low detection limit of 5 nM for the sensing of Hg II . Also, the corresponding limit of detection (LOD) for L-Cys is 8 nM in a relatively wide linear range, spanning from 0.001 to 40 µM.