Structurally designed porous polymer monoliths as probe-anchoring templates as benign and fast responsive solid-state optical sensors for the sensing and recovery of copper ions.

In this study, we report on the superior ion-capturing and sensing competence of a new breed of aqua-compatible solid-state ion-sensor using a structurally organized polymer monolith, for the ocular sensing of trace levels of divalent copper ions. The polymer monolithic template exhibits a single block framework with a uniform structural pattern and porous network that serves as an efficient host for the homogeneous probe anchoring, to constitute a renewable solid-state optical sensor. Here, a series of solid-state colorimetric Cu(II) sensors has been designed using three indigenously synthesized chelating probes (molecules) namely, 4-butyl-N-(2-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)hydrazine-1-carbonothioyl)benzamide (BNHCB), 2-(thiophen-2-ylmethylene)hydrazinen-1-carbothioamide (TMHCA), and 4-butylphenyl(diazenyl)-2-mercaptopyrimidine-4,6-diol (BDMPD). The polymer monoliths are characterized using various surface and structural analysis techniques such as HR-SEM, HR-TEM, XPS, XRD, FT-IR, EDAX, and BET surface area analysis. The fabricated solid-state sensors exhibit excellent selectivity and sensitivity for copper ions with unique color transitions that are reliable even at ultra-trace (ppb) levels. The impact of diverse sensing parameters such as solution pH, probe concentration, sensor quantity, target ion concentration, temperature, response kinetics, and matrix tolerances have been optimized. The fabricated sensor materials proffer maximum sensing efficiency in neutral pH conditions, with a limit of detection (LD) and quantification (LQ) values of 0.56 and 1.87 μg l-1, 0.30 and 1.0 μg l-1, and 0.12 and 0.42 μg l-1, for BNHCB-, BDMPD-, and TMHCA-anchored polymer sensors, respectively. The proposed reusable solid-state colorimetric sensors are environmentally benign, cost-effective and data reproducible, with superior analytical performance.