A highly stable 2D Zn-based coordination polymer exhibiting efficiently luminescent sensing towards sulfasalazine

A robust 3D supramolecular Zn(II)-based coordination polymer having formula [Zn(H2L)(bpyp)·H2O] (1) (H3L = benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid and bpyp = 2,5-bis(pyrid-4-yl)pyridine) has been hydrothermally synthesized and characterized. The single crystal X-ray analysis revealed that the polymer 1 possesses a paddle wheel-shaped [Zn2(COO)4] subunit extended by H3L and bpyp linkers, showing high environmental stability, good dispersion and intense green emission in aqueous system. 1 used as a photoluminescent sensor exhibits rapid and efficient fluorescent response towards sulfasalazine (SLA) with strong quenching constants and low detection limit of 1.65 ppm. Additionally, 1 exhibits strong anti-interference and outstanding regeneration capabilities in its sensitive and selective recognition of SLA, which enhances its potential for use as a sensing material. Furthermore, the sensing mechanism study shows that photo-induced charge transfer and competitive absorption are responsible for quenching of emission in 1.