Spying on carbon dioxide with versatile functional materials and small-molecule fluorescent probes

CO₂ has attracted significant attention due to its effect on global warming. Meanwhile, CO₂ is also essential for the modern agricultural, food, environmental, oil, and chemical industries. Thus, the rapid and selective detection and measurement of CO₂ is urgent. Since the simplicity, sensitivity, and especially non-destructive detection capacities of probes based on fluorescent molecules, fluorescence-based detecting techniques have become vital. In the past few years, remarkable developments in CO₂ probes have been made, which markedly advance the environment, industry, and medical field. This review highlights the recent advances in various functional materials and small-molecule fluorescent probes for visualizing CO₂. These fluorescent probes' design strategies, recognition mechanisms, optical properties, and practical applications were systematically discussed. This review is expected to promote the development of the CO₂ relative field, not only in the fluorescent probe but also in the environment and industry.