Conjugated supramolecular architectures as state-of-the-art materials in detection and remedial measures of nitro based compounds: A review

To counter the devastating effects of worldwide terrorism, the detection of explosives and explosive-related materials is one of the currently pressing concerns globally. In recent years, significant efforts have been made in the development of fluorescence-based chemical sensors for the recognition of explosives in the solid, solution, and vapor phases with enhanced sensitivity and selectivity accompanied by quick response time. A wide range of fluorescent sensors such as small fluorophores, transition metal complexes, conjugated polymers, bio-inspired materials, small molecule-based sensors, aggregation-induced emission-active materials, organic fluorescent chemosensors, and macromolecular sensors along with their sensing performance and pathway is the centerpiece of this review. Among all these sensing materials, fluorescence-based macromolecular sensors are playing a vital role in the detection of these explosives because of their ironic photophysical properties. Herein, we focused on state-of-the-art fluorescent materials for the detection of various explosives materials. All the features involved in sensing processes were summarized systematically and exhaustively. Lastly, future outlook and conclusions are discussed and presented.