Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
We have synthesized a novel conjugated polymer containing terpyridine receptors. This conjugated, polymer-based fluorescent chemosensory system exhibits unusually high sensitivity toward transition metal ions (∼-10−9 M). The fluorescence quenching response of the terpyridine containing conjugated polymer to transition metal ions is related to a facile energy migration in which energy from absorption of a photon, can migrate through the conjugated polymer system and be quenched by trapping sites. Terpyridine receptors can readily bind to transition metal ions and create a low lying Metal to Ligand Charge Transfer (MLCT) state which can act as an excitation trap.