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[Display omitted] • A novel bis-coumarin gelator W was first synthesized with highly selective recognition behavior for Al3+ detection. • The gelator W has good gelling properties in ethanol, tert- butanol and isopropanol. • The driving forces for gelator were: π-π stacking, hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces. • The gelator W has low toxicity which can be used in the biological application. A novel bis-coumarin gelator W was designed and synthesized. The W has good gel behavior in ethanol, tert -butanol, and isopropanol solutions. The self-assembly mechanism of the W was investigated using techniques such as UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and XRD. The results show that the driving forces for gelation are: π-π stacking, hydrogen bonding, and van der Waals forces, respectively. The effect of solvent on the gelation behavior is analyzed in the Teas plot, which shows that the solvent and the W can only form gels under the appropriate force. Through the optical performance test, the W can specifically recognize Al3+. The detection limit is as low as 7.32 × 10−7 M, the complexation constant is Ka = 1.033 × 103M−1. In addition, the cytotoxicity test of the two cell lines shows that their toxicity is low, which indicates that the W can be used in the field of bioengineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]