Development of a simple pyrazine-derived “turn on” Al3+ fluorescent sensor with high selectivity and sensitivity

• New fluorescent chemosensor based on pyrazine was designed and synthesized.
• High selectivity and sensitivity of 1 for Al3+ was observed.
• Addition of Al3+ into 1 gave remarkably enhanced fluorescence intensity at 488 nm.

In this article, a novel pyrazine-derived hydrazone Schiff-base ligand bearing the quinoline unit (1) has been designed, synthesized and evaluated as a “turn on” fluorescent chemosensor for Al3+ based on the photoinduced electron-transfer (PET) mechanism and the chelation-enhanced fluorescence (CHEF) phenomenon. The sensor 1 showed remarkably enhanced fluorescence intensity at 488 nm in the presence of Al3+ ion and it also showed high selectivity and sensitivity towards Al3+ ion over a wide range of metal ions in ethanol, for the detection limit of 1 for Al3+ could reach at 10−7 mol/L.

A novel pyrazine-derived hydrazone Schiff-base ligand bearing the quinoline unit (1) has been designed, synthesized and evaluated as a “turn on” fluorescent chemosensor for Al3+. This sensor 1 showed high selectivity towards Al3+ ion over a wide range of metal ions with large fluorescence enhancement at 488 nm.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide