Pyrene functionalized luminescent phenylalanine for selective detection of copper (II) ions in aqueous media

Abstract

A novel pyrene-based fluorescent chemosensor 1 (pyren-1-ylmethyl)-L-phenylalanine was designed and synthesized by combining 1-pyrenecarboxyaldehyde and L-phenylalanine. 1 was characterized by several analytical methods and used as a fluorescent chemosensor for the selective and sensitive detection of Cu2+ ions through “turn-off” mechanism with a detection limit of 2 x 10− 8 M. 1 can also be used to detect Cu2+ ions in a natural water sample and exhibits gelation properties with high thermal stability.