Amidinium sulfonate hydrogen-bonded organic framework with fluorescence amplification function for sensitive aniline detection

Although the construction of specific functional crystalline materials is still challenging,the multi-component molecular assembly has become a key solution for the design of functional materials.Here,we report a hydrogen-bonded organic framework(HOF)material FJU-360 constructed from disodium 6‑hydroxy-5-[(4-sulfophenyl)azo]-2-naphthalenesulfonate(SSY)and terephthalimidamide.The charge-assisted hydrogen bonding between amidinium and sulfonate makes FJU-360 produce much stronger fluorescence than SSY,and can be used as a luminescence sensor to rapidly quench aniline through luminescence quenching.FJU-360 is sensitive and highly selective for the detection of aniline,and the detection limit reached 3.2 nmol/L,which is the lowest value reported currently.The mechanism of aniline response was analyzed through the aniline@FJU-360 single crystal structure,and the luminescence mechanism was clarified through density function theory calculations.This work is an important step towards the rational synthesis and assembly of sensing materials.