A fluorescent guest used to determinate the effective content of CB[8] and to further detect methyl viologen

A fluorescent pyrene derivate, N-allyl-1-pyrenemethylammonium hydrochloride (APA+), was reported to form a stable host–guest complex with cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]), and this property can be utilized to determinate the purity of CB[8] via emission titration. Moreover, the 1:1 complex of APA+ and CB[8] can further bind methyl viologen (MV2+), which is the main ingredient of a widely used herbicide, providing a good method to detect MV2+, especially at low concentrations.

Graphical abstractN-Allyl-1-pyrenemethylammonium hydrochloride was found to form a binary complex with cucurbit[8]uril and further form a ternary complex with methyl viologen, which can be used to determine the content of cucurbit[8]uril and methyl viologen.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide