A quinoline-based simple receptor (bis(2-quinolinylmethyl)benzylamine = 1) as a Zn(2+) selective fluorescent chemosensor showed a large fluorescent enhancement with a blue shift in the presence of Zn(2+) which is attributed to a chelation enhanced fluorescence (CHEF) effect with inhibition of a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process of 1. In particular, this receptor could clearly distinguish Zn(2+) from Cd(2+). The binding mode of 1 and Zn(2+) was found to be a 1:1 and confirmed by Job plot, (1)H NMR titration and ESI-mass spectrometry analysis.
Keywords: Fluorescence enhancement; Fluorescent chemosensor; Quinoline; Zinc ion sensor.
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