A ratiometric fluorescent sensor for the detection of phosphate

Abstract

AbstractOver the past few years, ratiometric fluorescent nanoprobes have garnered substantial interest because of their self‐calibration characteristics. This research developed a ratiometric fluorescent sensor to detect phosphate. Through encapsulating luminescent materials, gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) and carbon dots (CDs) into a zeolitic imidazolate framework‐8 (ZIF‐8), the fluorescence signal of AuNCs was enhanced, while that of CDs was suppressed. After phosphate was added, it could decompose ZIF‐8, and AuNCs and CDs were released, which weakened the fluorescence signal of the AuNCs while restoring that of the CDs. Thereby, this makes CDs/AuNCs@ZIF‐8 a potential fluorescent sensor for phosphate determination. The ratiometric sensor had facile synthesis, good selectivity, and a low detection limit. Therefore, this sensor was an effective tool for the detection of phosphate.