Two-dimensional nano-layered materials as multi-responsive chemosensors constructed by carbazole- and fluorene-based polyaniline-like derivatives

Highlights: • 2D materials constructed by carbazole- or fluorene-based polyaniline-like derivatives were obtained. • These polymers were employed as the detection of Al³⁺, Fe³⁺, Cu²⁺ and HCl. • PDFCA material showed better sensing properties than PETDA material. The development of multi-responsive chemosensors has a bright application prospect in environmental monitoring and biological diagnosis. In this paper, we report two kinds of fluorescent polyaniline-like derivatives containing of carbazole or fluorene moieties with two-dimensional (2D) nano-layered structure and their applications in the detection of Al³⁺, Fe³⁺, Cu²⁺ and HCl in different environments. Through the analysis of the structure and properties of these two 2D materials, we find that the prepared (Poly(9,9′-(9,9-dihexyl-9H-fluorene-2,7-diyl)bis(9H-carbazol-3-amine))) PDFCA material performs excellent sensing properties for above analytes. Relevant density functional theory (DFT) calculation further confirms the potential application of 2D nano-layered PDFCA material in sensing field. This study presents that 2D nano-layered PDFCA material is considerably competitive in the development of multi-responsive chemosensors, and it will greatly accelerate the research of 2D polymer materials.