Covalently construction of C-GSH-AuNCs@UiO-66-NH2 composites as an efficient turn-on fluorescence sensor for UO22+

Due to the continuous expansion of the nuclear power industry, the exploitation of uranium resources has led to the discharge of large quantities of uranium-rich wastewater into the environment, which poses a major threat to the environment and human health. Rapid detection of uranium in water bodies is of great significance for early warning of uranium contamination in the environment, safe discharge and real-time regulation of nuclear waste, and sustainable development of energy and ecological environment. Herein, we report a new “turn-on” fluorescent sensor for the detection of UO22+ in aqueous solutions. The fluorescent sensor was obtained by covalently bonding UiO-66-NH2 with gold nanoclusters GSH-AuNCs and showed a sensitive fluorescence enhancement response to UO22+ at low solid-liquid ratio, with a detection limit of 15.3 nmol L−1. With the advantages of intuitive visual detection, reusability and easy separation, the sensitive fluorescence sensor has great potential for the detection of UO22+ in aqueous solutions.