A highly sensitivity fluorescent probe based on rhodamine for naked-eye detection of Hg²⁺ in aqueous solution

ABSTRACT

In this study, we have successfully synthesised a novel fluorescent chemosensor TM using rhodamine as the fluorophore and 8-hydroxyquinoline as recognition group through traditional Schiff base preparation methods. The chemical structure of sensor TM was characterised by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and ESI-MS. Sensor TM showed obvious fluorescence enhancement response to Hg²⁺ ion. The detection limit was 0.05 μM, and the solution colour changed from colourless to pink, making it a promising probe for effective naked-eye detection of Hg²⁺. The results of Job curve indicated that sensor TM and Hg²⁺ ion coordinated with each other with a binding stoichiometry of 1:1, and the pH test results showed that sensor TM was only suitable for acidic and neutral conditions.

KEYWORDS:

• Fluorescent probe
• rhodamine
• schiff-base
• Hg²⁺
• off-on sensor

Acknowledgments

Funding X.J. Meng would like to thank the Science and Technology Innovation Project of Colleges and Universities (No. 2020L0140), the Science and Technology Innovation Project of Shanxi Agricultural University (No. 2020BQ18) and the Shanxi Excellent Doctor Grant Award (No. SXYBKY2019046).

Authors’ contributions

Xianjiao Meng: Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Data curation, Writing - original draft, Writing-review & editing, Project administration. Zhichun Li: Visualization. Wenbing Ma: Conceptualization, Methodology, Resources, Writing-review & editing, Supervision.

Consent to participate

I would like to declare on behalf of my co-authors that the work described was original research that has not been published previously, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part. All the authors listed have approved the manuscript that is enclosed.

Consent for publication

We would like to submit the enclosed manuscript entitled ‘A Highly Sensitivity Fluorescent Probe based on Rhodamine for Naked-eye Detection of Hg²⁺ in aqueous solution’, which we wish to be considered for publication in ‘International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry’.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Science and Technology Innovation Project of Colleges and Universities [2020L0140]; the Science and Technology Innovation Project of Shanxi Agricultural University [2020BQ18]; the Shanxi Excellent Doctor Grant Award [SXYBKY2019046].