Recent progress in polymer-based optical chemosensors for Cu2+ and Hg2+ Ions: A comprehensive review

Environmental monitoring of trace amounts of copper (Cu2+) and mercury (Hg2+) ions has become indispensable owing to their detrimental effects on all levels of biological organisms. In the past few decades, numerous emissive molecular chemosensors have been developed for the selective detection of Cu2+/Hg2+ ions in water and living systems. Recently, utmost efforts have been devoted to fabricate new materials for the recognition of these toxic metal ions to accomplish excellent-selectivity, ultra-sensitivity along with fast response time. In this context, polymeric chemosensors have evolved to be next-generation most sought-after materials due to ease of handling, signal magnification, and simple fabrication into devices. Integrated with rationally designed metalion-recognizing motif, these chemically tailorable materials have also profound advantages over small molecular sensors, and eventually, the catalog of such novel polymeric materials is escalating. This review article intends to provide recent insights (2011-present) on metal ion (Cu2+/Hg2+ ions) sensing applications with a wide array of polymeric probes including pendant receptor-based, mesoporous and nanoparticle silica-based polymers, conjugated polymers, imprinted polymers, and polymeric nanoparticles, etc. Besides, the spectrum of this article involves emphasizing the sensing mechanism of such sensors through a number of crucial processes. Thus, we predict that this work will offer a comprehensive overview of fundamental aspects associated with the designing of fluorescent polymeric sensors for Cu2+/Hg2+ ions, and viewpoints about how to improve their applicability in the domain of real sample analysis.

Automated summary

This review article provides recent insights on metal ion sensing applications, specifically focusing on Cu2+/Hg2+ ions, using a wide array of polymeric probes including pendant receptor-based, mesoporous and nanoparticle silica-based polymers, conjugated polymers, imprinted polymers, and polymeric nanoparticles. The article also emphasizes the sensing mechanism of these sensors through a number of crucial processes.