Coordination-Induced Multivalent Self-Assembling Catalysts for Spectral Sensing Zn

The introduction of signal amplification to molecular spectral sensing systems is an intriguing topic in supramolecular analytical chemistry. In this study, click chemistry was used to generate a triazole moiety to bridge with a long hydrophobic alkyl chain (Cn) and another short alkyl chain (Cm) bearing a 1,4,7-triazacyclonane (TACN) group for efficiently generating a self-assembling multivalent catalyst, Cn-triazole-Cm-TACN·Zn2+ (n and m represent the carbon numbers of both alkyl chains, respectively; n = 16, 18, and 20; m = 2 and 6), to catalyze the hydrolysis of 2-hydroxypropyl-4-nitrophenyl phosphate (HPNPP) when Zn2+ was added. The triazole moiety introduced adjacent to the TACN group plays an important role in improving the selectivity of Zn2+ because the triazole moiety can participate in the coordination interaction between the Zn2+ and neighboring TACN group. The supplementary triazole complexing increases the space requirement for coordinated metal ions. This catalytic sensing system also shows high sensitivity, with a favorable limit of detection down to 350 nM, even if only UV-vis absorption spectra rather than more sensitive fluorescence techniques were used for signaling, and can be used to determine the concentration of Zn2+ in tap water, which demonstrates the practical application feasibility.