A nanofibrous membrane fluorescent sensor for fluoride ions prepared by electrospinning and host-guest interaction

Abstract

A novel inclusion complexes nanofibrous membrane fluorescent sensor was prepared for recognizing F- via electrospinning and host–guest interaction. The host α-cyclodextrin on the surface of the electrospun nanofiber membrane is assembled into the guest azobenzene molecule which modified with F- fluorescent probe，and the formation of the inclusion complex is fixed on the surface of the nanofibrous membrane without external force，to prepare a novel surface controllable composite nanofiber membrane for F- detection. The inclusion complexes nanofibrous membrane exhibited favourable sensitivity and selectivity for F-. The introduction of F- would result in notable fluorescent decreasing of the membrane, but the other most common anions would not disturb the detection of F-. Moreover, this nanofibrous membrane was not only a fluorescent sensor for detecting F-, but also a good adsorbent for F- in solution. Keywords: Host–guest interaction，Nanofibrous membrane，Fluorescent sensor，Fluoride ions， Adsorbent