With the mass production of industries, a large amount of waste gas substances containing metallic elements such as lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic are produced, which can easily be released into the environment to pollute our water and soil if not properly treated. These toxins can cause serious health problems such as kidney, stomach, liver, and brain toxicity once they enter the body [
102]. They are commonly found in water bodies in ionic form and have become one of the most prevalent and harmful environmental pollutants [
103]. The use of fluorescent COFs for detecting Hg
2+ is crucial for protecting and remediating environmental pollution. However, the application of COFs for fluorescence sensing of Pb
2+, Cd
2+ and As
3+ needs further exploration. Currently, only Zhang's group has successfully synthesized a carbazole-grafted COF backbone (COF-CB) through a Schiff base and post-grafting reaction. This COF-CB can be used as a "turn-on-type" fluorescent COF sensor with high selectivity and good interference resistance for identifying and detecting Pb
2+ with a detection limit as low as 1.48 µmol/L [
104]. For the detection of Cd
2+, the literature is also particularly scarce. Jin
et al. synthesized two hydroxyl-functionalized porphyrin COFs (2, 3-DhaTph and 2, 5-DhaTph), which exhibited fluorescence response to Cd
2+ through the chemical coordination of abundant phenolic hydroxyl groups and porphyrins with Cd
2+, achieving the dual functions of specific optical recognition and efficient adsorption of Cd
2+ (Fig. S7a in Supporting information). Under the excitation at 468 nm in pure DMF solvent, 2, 3-DhaTph without Cd
2+ absorption gave two strong fluorescence peaks at 538 and 680 nm, respectively. After the adsorption of Cd
2+, both peaks exhibited enhanced fluorescence with a slight redshift (Fig. S7b in Supporting information). Different from 2, 3-DhaTph, 2, 5-DhaTph emitted strong fluorescence at 650 nm, which was decreased by Cd
2+ resulted in the emergence of a weak fluorescence peak at 500 nm and the obvious redshift of the wavelength to 680 nm (Fig. S7c in Supporting information). The fluorescence intensity at the short-wavelength (538 nm for 2, 3-DhaTph and 500 nm for 2, 5-DhaTph) is mainly influenced by the electron ring flow on the whole conjugated backbone, while the fluorescence emission peak at the longer wavelength is related to the porphyrin monomer. Cd
2+ interacts with 2, 5-DhaTph by forming two six-membered rings, which are constructed through the coordination of Cd
2+ with a hydroxyl oxygen atom on 2, 5-Dha and a nitrogen atom on the imine bond. In addition, bulk materials (PS@COFs) were prepared by
in-situ growth of 2, 3-DhaTph or 2, 5-DhaTph on the pore wall of dopamine-treated heat-resistant polyurethane sponge. PS@COFs have interconnected large pore channels and thin COF layers uniformly distributed on the pore walls, resulting in faster adsorption kinetics and shorter adsorption equilibrium time compared to COFs (Figs. S7d–g). PS@COFs have potential in practical applications, as they can remove more than 99% of Cd
2+ from water samples with good reusability [
105]. Arsenate (As
3+) and arsenate (As
5+) are the two most common forms of arsenic. As
3+ is known to be 50–100 times more toxic than As
5+ and other forms. Yin's group developed a weakly fluorescent Dpy-TFPBCOF with PET effect by condensing 5, 5′-diamino-2, 2′-bipyridine (Dpy) and 1, 3, 5-tris(3′-formylphenyl)benzene (TFPB). When As
3+ was introduced, the hindered PET process was turned off, and the fluorescence was turned on in the form of a distinct color change. This allowed for an ultra-low detection limit (8.86 nmol/L) for As
3+. This switched-on fluorescent probe showed clear visualization, good sensitivity, and real-time response [
106].