Stimuli-responsive supramolecular hydrogel with white AIE effect for ultrasensitive detection of Fe3+ and as rewritable fluorescent materials

The development of fluorescent smart materials by introducing white light emission into supramolecular polymer hydrogels, and tuning their aggregation-induced emission (AIE) effect are essential for the manufacture of advanced functional materials. Herein, a novel bi-component supramolecular polymer hydrogel (NDG) was successfully constructed via a simple host-guest assembly process based on two easy-to-synthesize tripodal gelators (NTS and DTB). Strikingly, the NDG exhibits strong white aggregation-induced emission (WAIE), and can act as an AIE-based sensor for ultrasensitive detect Fe3+ and F−. The lowest limits of detection (LODs) are 5.33 × 10−9 M and 1.61 × 10−8 M, respectively. The xerogel of NDG exhibits nice adsorption and separation capacity for Fe3+, the adsorption rate reaches to 99.26%. In addition, the prepared NDG-based thin films can be used as rewritable fluorescent display material for the continuity detection of Fe3+ and F−. Due to the outstanding optical behavior of the NDG, it also be used as an “IMPLICATION” logic gate at the molecular level. The AIE hydrogel-guided enriches the self-assembly strategy of new supramolecular polymers, which also makes it become a good candidate for flexible optical materials.