Loading of AuNCs with AIE effect onto cerium-based MOFs to boost fluorescence for sensitive detection of Hg²

Ligand-protected gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) have become promising nanomaterials in fluorescence (FL) methods for mercury ions (Hg²⁺) monitoring, but low FL efficiency hinders their widespread application. Herein, AuNCs/cerium-based metal-organic frameworks (AuNCs/Ce-MOFs) were prepared by loading 6-aza-2-thiothymine-protected AuNCs (ATT-AuNCs) with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) effect on the surface of Ce-MOFs by electrostatic attraction. This strategy improved the FL intensity of AuNCs through two aspects: (i) the AIE effect of ATT-AuNCs and (ii) the confinement effect of Ce-MOFs, which improved the restriction of intramolecular motion (RIM) of ATT-AuNCs. In addition, Ce-MOFs could adsorb and aggregate Hg²⁺ during detection, which might increase the local concentration. Therefore, based on the high FL signal of AuNCs/Ce-MOFs and enriched Hg²⁺, sensitive detection of Hg²⁺ could be achieved. More importantly, the strong specific recognition between AuNCs and Hg²⁺ could guarantee selectivity. The developed FL sensor exhibited superior detection performances with a wide linear range of 0.2-500 ng mL^-1 and a low detection limit of 0.067 ng mL^-1. Furthermore, the FL sensor used for sensitive and selective detection of Hg²⁺ in real samples, and the results agreed well with the standard method. In summary, this work proposed an effective and generalized strategy for improving the FL efficiency of AuNCs, which would greatly facilitate their application in pollutant monitoring.