Water- and Thermal-Stable Silver-Based Photoluminescent Metal-Organic Coordination Polymer for Highly Selective Lead Ion Sensing

Photoluminescent metal-organic coordination polymers (PLMOCPs) have recently become an attractive material for sensing applications, however, fundamental study of PLMOCP for selective metal ion sensing is still lacking. Here, we report a highly water-stable silver-based photoluminescent metal-organic coordination polymer (PLMOCP) of Ag(BPY)(IPA-NH2) with 404 nm emission as a single probe for selectively detecting Pb2+ in aqueous solutions. The as-synthesized Ag(BPY)(IPA-NH2) was characterized with a high yield, well-defined crystalline structure, extraordinary water and thermal stabilities, and unique optical properties. A high quenching constant of 2*10^4 M−1 and low limit of detection (LOD) of 2.1 µM are determined. Systematic absorbance and PL spectroscopic studies suggest that the PL quenching caused by Pb2+ is the simultaneous dynamic quenching mechanism.