Aluminium(III) sensing by pyridoxal hydrazone utilising the chelation enhanced fluorescence effect

A chemosensor based on pyridoxal hydrazone was prepared in a two-step synthesis with a high yield. Chemosensor 1 exhibits high sensitivity and anti-disturbance for aluminium(III) ions among other biologically important metal ions. Aluminium(III) ion sensing was accomplished using a chelation enhanced fluorescence (CHEF) effect and photoinduced electron transfer (PET) inhibition. Chemosensor 1 shows a high association constant (1×105 M−1) towards aluminium(III) ions in DMSO-H2O (9:1, v/v). The detection limit of the fluorescence response of chemosensor 1 for aluminium(III) ions is 6×10−7 M.