BODIPY Immobilized MCM-41 Based Multianalyte Sensor: Application in Detection and Removal of Trivalent (Al3+, Cr3+) and Divalent (Cu2+, Hg2+) Metal Ions in Aqueous Media

In the present study, a novel p-phenylcarboxylic acid BODIPY (L) immobilized MCM-41 based solid chemosensor material L-propylsilyl@MCM-41 (MS4) was developed to detect multiple metal ions in a pure aqueous medium. The synthesized solid chemosensor material MS4 shows high sensitivity and removal ability towards trivalent (Al3+, Cr3+) and divalent (Cu2+, Hg2+) metal ions. The emission intensity of MS4 enhanced multifold selectively in the presence of trivalent (Al3+, Cr3+) metal ions and shows quenching in the presence of divalent (Cu2+, Hg2+) metal ions. The limit of detection was calculated to be in the nanomolar range with Al3+, Cr3+, Cu-,(2+) and Hg2+ metal ions in the aqueous medium. The spectroscopic and analytical results suggest that MS4 selectively binds with Al3+ and Cr3+ through -NH functionality and with Hg2+ and Cu2+ through -COOH functionality of p-phenylcarboxylic acid BODIPY (L). Further, MS4 selectively removes Al3+, Cr3+, Cu2+, and Hg2+ metal ions from the aqueous media with removal efficiency of 97.28 %, 96.34 %, 87.19 %, and 95.63 %, respectively. No noticeable change in the concentration was observed for other metal ions. The recycling potential of MS4 was evaluated using EDTA for up to seven cycles with no significant reduction in sensing capability.