Novel fluorescent chemosensor sensitively detect copper (II) through the collaboration of quinoline and coumarin groups

Abstract Copper ion (Cu 2+ ) plays important role in life system and industry; therefore, efficient detection of Cu 2+ is very important. To improve the selectivity and sensitivity of Cu 2+ , herein, quinoline and coumarin groups were rationally employed into a novel fluorescent sensor CQ to efficiently sensing Cu 2+ through the collaboration of these two groups. Interestingly, the CQ possesses aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) properties and shows nice selective and sensitive fluorescent response to Cu 2+ . The lowest limit of detection (LOD) for Cu 2+ is 2.81 × 10 −8 M. Moreover, the Cu 2+ sensing process has good anti‐interference properties. The possible recognition mechanism was investigated by experiments and theoretical calculations, which supplied a deep insight not only on the collaboration of the quinoline and coumarin groups in the Cu 2+ recognition process but also on the charge transfer induced fluorescent response mechanism. The results show that the CQ could specifically detect Cu 2+ via the collaboration of the quinoline and coumarin groups through multiple coordination interactions. Importantly, test strips based on CQ were fabricated, which could act as test kits for convenient and efficient detection of Cu 2+ .