1,2,3,4,5,6-Hexakis(4-bromophenyl)benzene-based covalent organic polymers as specific luminescent probes for the selective sensing of nitro-explosives†

Abstract

Here, we synthesized three covalent organic polymers (COPs) with varying π–π conjugation and coordination numbers. COP-H3, as a luminesent probe, exhibited a highly selective sensing of OH-containing nitro-explosives, while COP-H2 exhibited high selectivity for trinitrophenol and 2,6-DNP. Their sensing behavior could be well explained by the absorption competition quenching mechanism.