Polymer-based lab-on-a-molecule for the selective and sensitive recognition of fluoride and cyanide.

A polymer chemical sensor based on lab-on-a-molecule was synthesised by amine-aldehyde polymerisation for selective detection of fluorine ions (F-) and cyanide (CN-). The polymer chemical sensor shows significant absorption and fluorescence changes upon the addition of F- and CN-, which can be observed by the naked eye and optical reactions. The polymer has a higher fluorescence enhancement effect than its monomer and the distance of wavelength of each anion increased which could be applied to better distinguish the two anions.