A fluorescent sensor based on pentafluoropropanoic acid–functionalized UiO-66-NH2 for enhanced selectivity and sensitivity of dicloran detection

A pentafluoropropionic acid–functionalized fluorescent metal–organic framework material (UiO-66-NH 2 -PFPA) is prepared by a simple post-synthetic modification (PSM) strategy for the sensitive and selective detection of dichloran (DCN). The results of fluorescence experiments demonstrate that the sensitivity of UiO-66-NH 2 -PFPA (limit of detection, LOD = 0.478 μM) to DCN is nearly 10.93 times higher than that of UiO-66-NH 2 (LOD = 5.225 μM) and the material has good selectivity and anti-interference ability. After the addition of DCN, the blue fluorescence of UiO-66-NH 2 -PFPA is obviously quenched. Therefore, the possible quenching mechanism is further discussed in combination with relevant experiments and density functional theory calculations. Moreover, the sensor is applied to the detection of DCN in fruit samples with a satisfactory recovery of 101.1—107.9%, which implies that UiO-66-NH 2 -PFPA is expected to be a candidate material for the detection of DCN in food. Graphical abstract