A simple and effective fluorescent chemosensor for the cascade recognition of Zn2+ and H2PO4− ions in protic media

• DOI: 10.1016/j.tet.2013.10.099
• Publication Date: 2013-11-05T04:06:05Z
• Authors: Mengyu Zhang; Wei Lu; Jinting Zhou; Ganhong Du; Liming Jiang; Jun Ling; Zhiquan Shen
• Keywords: Photoinduced electron transfer

Abstract The chiral Schiff base N-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthyl)methylidene-(S)-α-phenylethylamine (1) was designed and synthesized as a fluorescent chemosensor based on the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) and C N isomerization mechanisms. The receptor exhibited a highly selective switch-on fluorescence response toward Zn2+ and especially avoided the interference of Cd2+ when the detection was conducted in unbuffered methanol solution. Furthermore, the in situ generated 1·ZnII-complex could be employed for the specific recognition of H2PO4− by fluorescence turn-off signaling through a ligand displacement process.