A novel carbazole-based fluorescent probe: 3,6-Bis-[(N-ethylcarbazole-3-yl)-propene-1-keto]-N-ethylcarbazole

A novel carbazole-based compound 5, 3,6-bis[(N-ethylcarbazole-3-yl)-propene-1-keto]-N-ethylcarbazole has been designed, synthesized and characterized. The absorption and fluorescence spectra in solvents of different polarities prove that the compound has a distinct intramolecular charge transfer character. Compound 5 can be used as a new class of fluorescent probe or biosensor due to its sensitivity to the local microenvironment such as solvent polarity.