Quinoline-based chemosensor for fluoride and acetate: A combined experimental and DFT study

• Novel receptor L for selective recognition of fluoride and acetate ions.
• Dual signalling phenomenon – Change in absorbance and fluorescence intensity.
• Investigated by experimental and theoretical (B3LYP/6-31G(d,p)) methods.
• Easy synthesis of receptor L.

A novel quinoline-based chemosensor L was synthesized and characterized by HRMS, FTIR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR. The anion recognition ability of L towards different anions was investigated by experimental (naked-eye, UV–visible, fluorescence and 1H NMR) and theoretical (B3LYP/6-31G(d,p)) methods. In the presence of F− and AcO−, L showed naked-eye detectable colour change from light yellow to orange brown with the appearance of a new charge transfer band at ∼530 nm in the absorption spectra while a remarkable enhancement was observed in the fluorescence spectra. The spectral titration with TBAOH and 1H NMR study showed the binding nature of anion with L to follow deprotonation mechanism.

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