Detection of Aliphatic Aldehydes by a Pillar[5]arene-based Fluorescent Supramolecular Polymer with Vaporchromic Behavior

The detection of volatile aliphatic aldehydes is of significance because of their chemical toxicity, physical volatility and widespread applications in chemical industrial processes. In this work, the direct detection of aliphatic aldehydes is tackled using a pillar[5]arene-based fluorescent supramolecular polymer with vaporchromic behavior. Thin films with strong orange-yellow fluorescence are prepared by coating the linear supramolecular polymer on glass sheets. When the thin films are exposed to aliphatic aldehydes with different carbon chain lengths, they can selectively sensing n-butyraldehyde (C-4) and caprylicaldehyde (C-8), accompanied by fluorescence quenching, indicating that the supramolecular polymer is a highly selective vapochromic response material for aliphatic aldehydes with long alkyl chains.