Selective Metal‐Ion Detection and Activatable Photosensitization Properties of a Tetraphenylethylene‐Based Salicylideneimine

Abstract

Development of chemosensors for metal ions is an active area of research. Fluorescent chemosensors capable of detecting multiple metal ions are valuable because of their potential utility in diagnostics and environmental science. We have synthesized a Schiff‐base chemosensor based on the tetraphenylethylene chromophore. It was observed that the chemosensor interacts with Cu(II) and Zn(II) in acetonitrile with high association constants of 2.33 × 1021 and 1.33 × 1021 M−4, respectively. Moreover, the interaction of these metal ions with the chemosensor resulted in visual colour and fluorescence changes. Nanoaggregates of this molecule, on the other hand, were observed to be selective towards Cu(II) in the aqueous medium. It is also noteworthy that the binding of Cu(II) activates photosensitization property of this molecule and generates singlet oxygen efficiently.

Multiresponsive tetrarylethylene-based fluorescent dye with multicoloreded changes: AIEE properties, acidichromism, Al3+ recognition, and applications

“…The nonplanar structure that constitutes the propeller type ensured its strong fluorescence emission in the aggregation and solid state due to the restriction of intramolecular motions (RIMs). [14][15][16][17][18][19][20] For example, Wang et al explored a tetraphenylethene AIE fluorescent sensor, which is capable of visually distinguishing Th 4+ between lanthanide, transition metal, and alkali metal under UV light. 21 Lin et al developed a TPE-BSA sensor with good AIE features for uranyl ion detection by incorporating the salt benzene moiety into the active tetraphenylethene part of AIE.…”

Aggregation‐Induced Emission, Mechanofluorochromism, and Selective Fluoride Detection by a Tripodal Salicylaldimine

“…The ideal candidate for fluoride detection should be cost effective, easy to prepare and should allow fluoride detection under a variety of conditions. In this context, Schiff's bases are easy to synthesize and are known for their binding affinity towards cations [24–29] . Moreover, as Schiff's bases are known to participate in several excited state processes such as excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT), photo induced electron transfer, intramolecular charge transfer and fluorescence resonance energy transfer, which could be exploited for chemosensing applications [30–35] .…”