A novel visual sensing method based on Al@AuNCs for rapid identification of Chrysanthemum morifolium from different origins

As a traditional and authentic Chinese medicinal material, Chrysanthemum morifolium (CM) has an excellent pharmacological effect. However, it is not easy to trace its origin at present, especially through visualization methods. Herein, Au nanoclusters (AuNCs) were successfully synthesized and combined with Al3 + to form [email protected] complexes through the aggregation-induced fluorescence enhancement (AIE) effect, which was used to construct a visual sensor for the rapid identification of CM. Further studies revealed that 3-hydroxylflavonoid derivatives in CM actively competed with AuNCs for Al3 + through an excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) effect during the recognition process and flavonoids could effectively quench the fluorescence of AuNCs. Consequently, CM of different origins could produce fluorescence of various colors from red to green to produce a rapid visual differentiation effect. Finally, using the PLSDA method in chemometrics, it was proven that the accuracy of CM recognition can be increased from 93.10% and 46.15–100%.