Synthesis and crystal structure of imidazole containing amide as a turn on fluorescent probe for nickel ion in aqueous media. An experimental and theoretical investigation

• Imidazole containing amide fluorescent probe was designed and synthesized.
• The probe was characterized by spectral and single crystal XRD studies.
• The probe acts as a selective and sensitive chemosensor for Ni2+ ions.
• Existence of Ni2+ ion in real water samples was evaluated.

Imidazole containing amide fluorescence probe (PAIC) for Ni2+ was designed and successfully synthesized in good yield by reaction between 1-methyl-1H-imidazole-2-carboxylic acid and l-phenylalanine methyl ester. The probe was characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, ESI-MS, UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. Single crystal XRD analysis reveals that PAIC crystallizes in a monoclinic crystal lattice system with the space group of P21/n. Chemosensor property of PAIC was tested against different metal ions by UV–vis and fluorescent techniques in aqueous medium. Test results show that PAIC has high selectivity for Ni2+ compared to other metal ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Ag+, Co2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, Hg2+, Mn2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+). Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) and configuration interaction singles (CIS) calculations were carried out to understand the sensing mechanism. The practical applicability of PAIC was tested in real water samples.

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