Thiazole derivative based terbium(III) covalent silica nanosphere and its sensing property

Covalent cross-linked luminescent hybrid material including terbium complex and silica was prepared through a sol–gel process. Homogenous spherical morphology (∼40 nm) could be achieved and this nanomaterial exhibited remarkable green emissions. It presented highly selective and rapid fluorescence quenching to Cu2+ (detection limit 3.9 μМ) compared with Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Al3+, Zn2+, Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Mn2+, Cd2+, Pd2+, Ag+, and Hg+ in CH3CN/H2O (4/1). More importantly, it was found that this sensing material can be reused more than 5 cycles.