Covalent organic framework with donor-acceptor structure for rapid and sensitive photothermal sensing detection

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Diethylstilbestrol (DES) poses significant health risks due to dietary exposure.
• Rapid and sensitive detection methods for DES are crucial for public health.
• Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) show potential for advanced sensing applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, highly sensitive photothermal sensor for diethylstilbestrol (DES) detection.
• To investigate the efficacy of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) in photothermal sensing.
• To establish a new analytical method for monitoring DES contamination.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of a donor-acceptor type covalent organic framework (COF) with high photothermal conversion efficiency (51.17%).
• Construction of a photothermal immunochromatography sensor utilizing the synthesized COF.
• Establishment of a standard curve correlating DES concentration with temperature change.
• Systematic investigation of COF performance in photothermal sensing.

Main Results:

• The developed COF-based sensor demonstrated a detection limit of 0.24 μg·L⁻¹, which is 10 times lower than visual detection (3 μg·L⁻¹).
• A clear inverse relationship was observed between photothermal signal intensity and DES concentration.
• The study systematically validated the photothermal sensing capabilities of COFs for the first time.

Conclusions:

• A novel and highly sensitive photothermal DES sensor based on COF has been successfully constructed.
• This work validates the application of COFs in photothermal sensing, expanding their utility.
• The developed method offers a significant advancement for rapid and sensitive detection of harmful DES residues.