Naphthalimide-based AIE-active receptor: HSO4-/SO42- sensing and detection of Pb2+ by receptor-anion ensemble in aqueous medium

Sulekha Kumari Pandit; Gopal Das

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2024.123879

Naphthalimide-based AIE-active receptor: HSO₄^-/SO₄^2- sensing and detection of Pb²⁺ by receptor-anion ensemble in aqueous medium

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2024 Apr 5:310:123879. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2024.123879. Epub 2024 Jan 19.

Authors

Sulekha Kumari Pandit¹, Gopal Das²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam 781039, India.
² Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam 781039, India. Electronic address: gdas@iitg.ac.in.

PMID: 38295592
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2024.123879

Abstract

Herein we report a naphthalimide-chromophore based blue light emitting Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE) active fluorescent chemo-sensor for the selective turn-on fluorescent sensing of HSO₄^-/SO₄^2- ions in the aqueous medium through in-depth spectroscopic and microscopic analysis. HSO₄^-/SO₄^2-sensing in aqueous environment is quite challenging due to its high hydration energy, however Nap-1 showed a detection limit down to the micromolar range without any interference from the other tested competitive anions. The sensing mechanism has been discussed thoroughly. Nap-1 was further applied in detection of HSO₄^-/SO₄^2- ions in real water as well as in fabrication of an economical paper strip model. The receptor-anion ensemble was further used for the sensing of heavy metal ions such as Pb²⁺ in the micromolar range. Nap-1 was used for the construction of two inputs INHIBIT type molecular logic gate.

Keywords: Aggregation-Induced Emission; Fluorescence sensing; Logic gate; Photo induced-electron transfer.