Self-Assembly of Europium-Containing Polyoxometalates/Tetra-n-alkyl Ammonium with Enhanced Emission for Cu(2+) Detection

[Image: see text] Lanthanide-containing polyoxometalates (POMs) can be used to detect various materials, but their luminescence in water has suffered enormous limitations due to the strong fluorescence quenching. Herein, to resolve this problem, three-dimensional nanoparticles built by mixed Weakley-type europium-containing POMs (Na(9)[EuW(10)O(36)]·32H(2)O, abbreviated to EuW(10)) and tetra-n-alkyl ammonium (TA) with enhanced fluorescent properties have been designed in aqueous solution using an ionic self-assembly (ISA) technique, which is mainly driven by the electrostatic interaction between EuW(10) and TA. The morphology and fluorescent properties of the system as well as some influencing factors (alkyl chain length, amino group, and inorganic salt concentration) were systematically investigated. The results indicated that the fluorescent intensity of EuW(10)/tetramethylammonium bromide (TMAB) composite increased about 14 times, whereas the extent of increase of fluorescence for EuW(10)/tetraethylammonium bromide (TEAB) and EuW(10)/tetrabutylammonium bromide (TMAB) composites gradually decrease due to the bulkier steric hindrance of the longer alkyl chain. Besides, the luminescence of EuW(10)/TMAB nanoparticles is pH responsive, and the reversibility of their structures and luminescence can be realized upon the addition of NaOH/HCl. Moreover, the EuW(10)/TMAB system also shows great fluorescence-sensing behavior, which could detect Cu(2+) with a detection limit of 0.15 μM. Our work provides a facile construction strategy for a functional fluorescent complex via POMs-based supramolecular self-assembly in aqueous solution, which will be further used in biomarkers and sensors.