A “turn on” colorimetric system based on bimetallic UiO-66(Zr/Ce) for rapid sensing of tetracyclines through visible light triggering

In this work, a novel “turn on” colorimetric system based on UiO-66(Zr/Ce) for rapid sensing of tetracyclines through visible light triggering was facilely constructed. The construction of the system was significantly simplified without H2O2 addition and probe modification. It is also more economical and milder without high temperature requirement due to visible light triggering. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of its great tetracyclines adsorption performance and highly efficient photogenerated carrier separation, massive reactive oxygen species (ROS) can be generated rapidly and 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) can be oxidized quickly, leading to a much faster visual naked-eye detection of tetracyclines within 2 min, nearly 5–45 times shorter than that of the reported methods. Moreover, the system can be used for the detection of tetracyclines in real samples accurately and reliably, exhibiting its bright potential for field or online monitoring of tetracyclines. We believe our work will provide a facile, mild, and effective strategy for the rapid naked-eye visualization detection of antibiotics in the environment, as well as present a novel methodology for rapid sensing of a certain target based on TMB chromogenic reaction. [Display omitted] •A novel strategy based on UiO-66(Zr/Ce) for TCs sensing was developed.•Facile construction, visible light triggering, and fast sensing within 2 min.•Ce doping endows great adsorption of TCs and fast charges separation.•Mechanism of fast sensing was investigated.