Design and Construction of the Uranyl Coordination Polymer with Multifunction Stimulus Response: Fluorescent Sensors for Halide Ions and Photochromism

It can provide ideas for the use of uranium elements in the treatment of spent fuel from nuclear wastewater to explore the application potential of uranium element. Thus, it is necessary to research the structure and properties of a novel uranyl coordination polymer (CP) for uranium recovery and reuse. Herein, we designed and prepared a new uranyl CP U-CMNDI based on UO22+ and H2CMNDI (H2CMNDI = N, N′-bis(carboxymethyl)-1,4,5,8-naphthalenediimide). Structural analysis shows that two uranyl ions are connected by two parallel deprotonated CMNDI ligands to form a discrete uranyl dimer structure. U-CMNDI can act as a potential stimulus-responsive halide ion sensor by a fluorescence "turn on" response in water. The limit of detection for fluoride (F–), bromide (Br–), iodide (I–), and chloride (Cl–) is 5.00, 5.32, 5.49, and 5.73 μM, respectively. The fluorescence "turn on" behavior is based on the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanism between halide ions and electron-deficient NDI cores. In addition, U-CMNDI demonstrates a color response to ultraviolet light, exhibiting reversible photochromic behavior with a notable color change. The color change mechanism can contribute to the PET process and the radical process.