Synthesis of AIE-active glycopolymer probe via reversible deactivation radical polymerization for the fluorescent detection of boric acid in water.

[Display omitted] • Star glycopolymer with aggregation-induced emission effect was synthesized by reversible deactivation radical polymerization. • The glycopolymer could act as fluorescent probe to detect boric acid in the range of 10–8000 mg/mL. Excessive boric acid could cause severe damage to plants and humans. Hence, it is of great importance to detect its presence in water. However, traditional analytical methods often have to use either toxic reagents or expensive instruments, which urges the development of a facile detection strategy. Herein, we have designed a tetraphenylethylene-cored glucose-containing glycopolymer with an aggregation-induced emission effect to detect the concentration of boric acid in water efficiently. Copper-mediated reversible deactivation radical polymerization (Cu(0)-RDRP) was utilized to polymerize glucose-containing monomer directly in N, N -dimethylbenzamide (DMF), yielding a star-shaped glycopolymer with a tetraphenylethylene core. This glycopolymer emitted fluorescence through B(OH) 4 − induced aggregation under alkaline conditions, which can serve as a sensitive fluorescence probe for detecting boric acid while being specific to the acid and not affected by other metal ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]