A cyanobiphenyl containing fluorescence “turn on” sensor for Al3+ ion in CH3CN–water

• A novel fluorescent sensor including Schiff base an AAF was synthesized.
• AAF were characterized by using 1H, 13C, APT, COSY, FT-IR, elemental, fluorescence and UV–vis data.
• AAF showed highly selective and sensitive recognition toward Al3+ ions.

A novel fluorescent sensor, 4′-hydroxy-3′-(((2-hydroxyphenyl)imino)methyl)-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (AAF) was synthesized and characterized by combination of 1H, 13C, APT, COSY NMR, FT-IR, and elemental analysis. The behaviors of the receptor AAF toward different metal ions were determined by UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. The receptor AAF exhibited a 24-fold increase in fluorescence intensity in the presence of Al3+ over most other competitive metal ions in CH3CN–water (v/v, 1/1).

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