Selective detection of Zn^(2+) and Cd^(2+) ions in water using a host-guest complex between chromone and Q[7]

In this paper,the host-guest interaction of cucurbit[7]uril(Q[7]) and chromone(CMO) has been developed as a fluorescent probe for the highly selective detection of Zn2+ and Cd^(2+) in water based on a chelation-enhanced fluorescence(CHEF) mechanism.There was a good linear relationship between the fluorescence intensity of the CMO@Q[7] probe and the concentration of Zn^(2+ )or Cd^(2+) in the range of 0-3.0×10^(-5) mol/L and the detection limit for Zn^(2+) and Cd2+ was found to be 2.03×10^(-6) mol/L and 1.89×10^(-6)mol/L,respectively.The X-ray crystal structure indicated that different coordination fashions were triggered by Zn^(2+) and Cd^(2+ )in the CMO@Q[7] complexes,respectively.However,both metal ions coordinated with the carbonyl oxygen of CMO,which was encapsulated in the cavity of Q[7],thus leading to the enhancement of recognition fluorescence emission of CMO.