A Two-Stage Functional Nanomaterial Utilized for Ethanolamine Scavenging and Formaldehyde Detection via the AILE Mechanism

Based on the principle of intermolecular interactions of the aggregation-induced locally excited emission (AILE) luminescence mechanism, two-stage functional conjugated polymers (CPs) capable of scavenging ethanolamine (ETA) and nanoprobes with detecting formaldehyde (FA) were designed and developed. The two-stage functional PFOP-NEt3(+)-based nanomaterial is simple to synthesize, easy to use, versatile, atom-economical, photostability, and biocompatible. In the first stage, conjugated polymers can process and stabilize the water pollutant ethanolamine. In the second stage, the nanoparticles formed by self-assembling conjugated polymers with ethanolamine can produce specific and sensitive responses to formaldehyde. They can detect formaldehyde in normal and cancer cells. This two-stage functional material, which has a high atom economy, is expected to be a specific detection probe for formaldehyde in vivo and ex vivo and can remove ethanolamine from aqueous environments and cells.