Aggregation-induced chemiluminescence system for sensitive detection of mercury ions.

As mercury ions (Hg) are emanated to surroundings in the course of various natural events and human activities, an accurate sensing of Hg is essential for human health and environmental protection. Herein, a new aggregation-induced chemiluminescence (CL) sensor for fast, sensitive, and selective detection of Hg is developed, based on the CL enhancement of bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)oxalate (TCPO)-HO system by thiolate-protected gold complexes (Au(I)-thiolate complexes) in the aggregated state. Because Hg has a strong interaction with hydrosulfuryl (-SH) groups in Au(I)-thiolate complexes, the aggregation is disrupted and the CL is quenched. The decrease of CL intensity is proportional to Hg contents with a linear range of 0.005-10 μg mLand the limit of detection (LOD) is 3 ng mL. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first AIE CL sensor for Hg detection. The study opens up attractive perspectives for developing simple and rapid aggregation-induced CL methods in monitoring heavy metals.