Mesoporous material grafted with luminescent molecules for the design of selective metal ion chemosensor

Luminescent Schiff-base groups have been successfully grafted on the surface of mesoporous material MCM-48. The grafted Schiff-base groups were employed to prepare luminescent Schiff-base-Zn complex that was covalently bound to the MCM-48 surface. These luminescent mesoporous materials were characterized with X-ray, UV–VIS and emission spectroscopic methods. Experimental results demonstrated that MCM-48 modified with functional groups exhibited novel luminescent property. The chemosensing property of modified MCM-48 sample was investigated. It was demonstrated that the fluorescence of MCM-48 solid with Schiff-base groups could be completely quenched by Cu2+ cation and this mesoporous material was suitable for sensing Cu2+ cation in aqueous media.