Siloxane-Based Nanoporous Polymers with Narrow Pore-size Distribution for Cell Imaging and Explosive Detection

Porous polymers are among the most promising porous materials for various application because they show the combined advantages of fluorescent porous materials and polymers. This study developed a cell imaging technique based on luminescent porous organosilicon polymers (LPOPs) that were synthesized via Friedel–Crafts reaction of octaphenylcyclotetrasiloxane with octavinylsilsesquioxanes. The porous organosilicon polymers possessed narrow pore-size distribution, high surface area, and monomodal nanopores centered at approximately 0.59 nm. The excellent properties to the porous polymers can be attributed to the fine structures of LPOPs. LPOP-2 owned the highest fluorescence intensity and micropore volume ratio in LPOPs and showed high selectivity for Fe3+ detection and excellent sensitivity to nitroaromatic compound detection. Interestingly, these porous polymers still exhibited excellent responsiveness to Fe3+ ion even when inside of living cells. We also fabricated a paper-based sensor using LPOP-2 to develop a simple method for visual detection of explosives. This rapid and visual paper sensor demonstrates promising application for explosive detection and can be expanded for the detection of other analytes.