A novel sensor (RD) bearing rhodamine B and 4-tert-Butyl phenol unit have been designed and synthesized using microwave irradiation. The sensor allows selective detection of Cu2+ by forming absorptive complex and trigger the formation of highly colored ring-open spirolactam. The recognition ability of the sensor was investigated by absorbance, Job's plot, infrared (IR) and time dependent-density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations.
Keywords: Absorbance; Colorimetric; Cu2+; Microwave; Rhodamine; Sensor.