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In this work, naphthalimide derived functionalized silica material SiO 2 @NAPIA (2,2'((((propylazanediyl)bis(methylene))bis(2,1-phenylene))bis(oxy))bis(N-(1,3-dioxo-1H-benzo[de]isoquinoline-2(3H)-yl)acetamide)) was constructed as a dual signaling and remediation material for ferric ions from a pool of 35 common ions (cations and anions) in the aqueous system. The material Cubic SiO 2 shows a high surface area (1104 m2/g, pore volume (1.510 cm3/g), and pore diameter (6.3 nm) in the mesoporous range, which reduces further on functionalization to get the final material SiO 2 @NAPIA. The ferric ion selectivity through fluorescence quenching displays a Stern-Volmer quenching constant (K sv) of 7.8 × 108 M−1 with a LOD (Limit of detection) value of 0.11 μM for ferric-ion, which is 48 times lower than the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) maximum contaminant level (5.35 μM) in drinking water. This material also shows a very high adsorption capacity (664 mg/g) for ferric ions fitting the Langmuir model isotherm with R2 = 0.99, which can be easily stripped out, and the material can be recycled. This material was also used as a sensory probe material for biosensing of ferric ions through fluorescence imaging in living organisms like Artemia salina and quantification in the real environmental sample. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity inspired by the ferric ion chelating affinity shows good potency against several Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial strains. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) & Minimal Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of the material against these pathogens were found to be 100 & 200 μg/mL respectively. This material signifies superior activity with respect to the ferric-ion selective materials known in the literature. This work discloses a new functionalized material showing exceptional selectivity towards ferric ions in the presence of several cations & anions with a LOD value 48 times lower than the USEPA maximum contaminant level in drinking water. The very high adsorption capacity, recyclability, quantification in the real sample, biosensing, and antibacterial activities shows its superior performances as a single platform. [Display omitted] • A fluorophore appended new functional material constructed to derive the dual functions of sensing and removal of the ferric ion with recyclability of the material. • The solid support, Cubic silica, was synthesized by an improved Stober process, where the ammonia concentration and the aging temperature were kept at the higher side to afford regular-sized cuboid mesoporous silica with improved surface area and pore size. • The material shows exceptional selectivity towards ferric ion with a very low limit of detection (LOD) and very high adsorption capacity. • This material was also used as a biosensing probe to detect the ferric ion in living organisms like artemia salina through fluorescence imaging. • Furthermore, this material with ferric ion chelating properties also shows antibacterial activities against both gram positive & negative bacterial strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]