Construction of AIE active fluorescent sensor for highly specific sensing of hydrogen peroxide through turn on...

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is a poisonous chemical commonly used as a crucial component in the production of peroxide-based explosives and plays an important role in various biological processes. Thus, it is crucial to detect H₂O₂ vapor and solutions for safety and diagnostic purposes. Proposed sensor MPT exhibited remarkable photophysical characteristics regarding the structure-property relationship, such as solvatochromism and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) based on J-aggregates. Following this, a carefully designed sensor MPT was employed for turn-on fluorescence sensing of H₂O₂ via strong hydrogen bonding, achieving limits of detection as low as 80.6 nM. This distinct sensing phenomenon increases the versatility and potential applications of our sensor for selective and sensitive H₂O₂ detection. ¹H NMR, DLS, FTIR, mass spectrometry (LC-MS), titration experiments, and detailed density functional theory calculations elucidated the unique sensing mechanism. Due to effective interactions, the sensor detects H₂O₂ with key attributes such as exceptional selectivity, nanoscale detection, rapid response, and outstanding photostability. Additionally, sensor MPT-embedded fluorescent strips were successfully used as a portable device for the rapid detection of H₂O₂ vapor. Furthermore, sensor MPT was also able to monitor H₂O₂ in industrial water. Moreover, a logic-gate model was fabricated to detect H₂O₂ in real time. The sensor MPT was employed to measure concentration of hydrogen peroxide in commercially available products such as hair bleach, mouthwash, and disinfectant. Consequently, our sensor offers promising characteristics for trace detection of H₂O₂ in real samples, making it highly valuable.