Using eugenol scaffold to explore the explosive sensing properties of Cd(II)-based coordination polymers:...

Area of Science:

• Coordination Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Chemical Sensing

Background:

• Eugenol, a natural compound, possesses diverse pharmacological properties but its coordination chemistry remains underexplored.
• Schiff base ligands derived from natural products offer unique structural and functional attributes for coordination chemistry.
• Development of sensitive and selective probes for hazardous nitroaromatic compounds is crucial for environmental monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel eugenol-based Schiff base ligands and their coordination polymers (CPs) with Cd²⁺.
• To investigate the structural, thermal, and luminescent properties of the synthesized CPs.
• To evaluate the CPs' efficacy as selective and sensitive probes for detecting trinitrophenol (TNP) in complex matrices.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of an eugenol-based Schiff base ligand (HL) and its subsequent coordination with Cd²⁺ in the presence of pseudohalides.
• Structural confirmation using ESI-MS, NMR, and FT-IR spectroscopy.
• Characterization of coordination polymers (CPs 1 and 2) including thermal stability, luminescence, and sensing studies for TNP detection.

Main Results:

• Two luminescent coordination polymers, [Cd₂(L)₂(X)₂] (CPs 1 and 2), were successfully synthesized and structurally characterized.
• CPs 1 and 2 exhibited high selectivity and sensitivity as 'turn-off' probes for trinitrophenol (TNP), with low limits of detection (0.29 μM and 0.15 μM).
• The CPs demonstrated recyclability, fast response times, and effective TNP detection in complex environmental samples, with high quenching constants.

Conclusions:

• The synthesized eugenol-based coordination polymers are promising materials for the selective and sensitive detection of TNP.
• The study expands the coordination chemistry of eugenol derivatives and highlights their potential in environmental sensing applications.
• The cooperative sensing mechanisms involving energy transfer, photoinduced electron transfer, and supramolecular interactions contribute to the high sensing performance.