Self‐Assembled Zn/Co‐Based Coordination Polymer Sensors for Detection of Nitrobenzene and Nitroimidazole Antibiotics

The on‐time detection of hazardous chemicals is very important in ecological environments. In this work, two new transition metal‐based coordination polymers were synthesized by solvothermal method, namely [Zn(2,5‐dpa)(phen)·H 2 O] n (CP‐1) and [Co(2,5‐dpa)(dmphen)] n (CP‐2) (2,5‐dpa = 2,5‐pyridinedicarboxylic acid, phen = 1,10‐phenanthroline, dmphen = 2,9‐dimethyl‐1,10‐phenanthroline). The structures of CP‐1 and CP‐2 were analyzed by single‐crystal x‐ray diffraction. The results show that CP‐1 and CP‐2 exhibit 1D chain structure despite the use of different auxiliary ligands. Luminescence sensing experiments showed that CP‐1 can serve as a highly sensitive sensor for the selective detection of nitrobenzene (NB), as well as nitroimidazole antibiotics metronidazole (MDZ) and ornidazole (ODZ). The detection limits were found to be as low as 1.16 × 10 −5 M for NB, 1.53 × 10 −5 M for MDZ, and 1.26 × 10 −5 M for ODZ, respectively. The possible sensing mechanisms were subsequently analyzed through in‐depth experimental and computational research.