Benzimidazole-functionalized fluorescent probe for rapid detection of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol and Ag+ in semiaqueous medium

Abstract

In this study, a simple fluorescent chemosensor with good fluorescence properties was synthesized, which was used to develop a sensitive and selective sensor for the determination of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) and Ag+ in THF/H2O medium based on the fluorescence quenching mechanism. Fluorescence quenching experiments revealed that the fluorescence intensities of the resulted probe were linear with the concentrations of TNP and Ag+ in the concentration range of (30-50)?10-7 and (20-50)?10-7 mol dm-3, with the detection limit of 1.36 and 0.82 ?mol dm-3, respectively. At the same time, accompanied with fluorescent color change under 365 nm UV light irradiation. This has demonstrated that the compound can act as a potential candidate for a ?naked-eye? rapidly detector for Ag+ and TNP in soils and aquatic systems.