A water-soluble fluorescence probe based on perylene diimide for rapid and selective detection of perfluorooctane sulfonate in 100% aqueous media

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is the most typical compound as emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs). It is very significant to monitor PFOS concentration in environmental samples. In this paper, a novel fluorescence probe based on a cationic perylene diimide derivative (PDI-Pyr) toward PFOS detection was designed and synthesized. The sensing properties were investigated systematically by spectroscopic techniques. The detection limit in the method was calculated to be 28 nmol/L. It was found that the formation of PDI-Pyr/PFOScomplex through electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions accounted for the mechanism of the fluorescent assay. This method could be further applied in real tap water samples and environmental samples such as soil extract. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first report of PDI-based fluorescent sensor for PFOS determination.