Optical sensing of aqueous boron based on polymeric hydroxytriphenylene derivatives

The detection of boron in natural water and wastewaters is still limited to a few methods, requiring a compromise between sensitivity, reliability and accessibility. Here we present a novel polymeric fluorescent boron sensor with excellent water solubility, boron sensitivity, ease of handling, which can be easily recovered and reused. The new off-on fluorescent boron sensor is able to detect and quantify ppb amounts of boron in water, with a limit of detection of 10 ppb of boron, both for boric acid and phenylboronic acid. The sensor was prepared by copolymerizing methacrylic acid with a polymerizable asymmetric hexa-substituted triphenylene, obtained by oxidative cyclization of biphenyl and catechol precursors.