Inorganic–organic hybrid nonwoven fabrics with colorimetric detection capability for borate ions in aqueous solutions

Abstract A nonwoven fabric sheet with an immobilized colorimetric reagent was prepared to detect borate anions in aqueous media. The fabric comprised immobilized chromotropate and 1-butanesulfonate anions and chromotropate, as the colorimetric reagent, per anion exchange capacity of the layered double hydroxide. The resulting sheet quantitatively detected borate anions through photoluminescence measurements. Thus, it can be used for onsite quantitative analysis of dissolved boron in water, with promising potential for water quality monitoring and, consequently, sustainable and safe water resources globally.