A water-soluble 1,8-naphthalimide-based 'turn on' fluorescent chemosensor for selective and sensitive recognition of mercury ion in water

A water-soluble 1,8-naphthalimide-based fluorescent chemosensor 1, by the formation of a 1:1 1−Hg2+ inclusion complexes, exhibited high selectivity and sensitivity for recognition of Hg2+ ion in water over other heavy and transition metal ions with fluorescent enhancement at 562 nm.