Anion recognition and sensing by transition-metal complexes with polarized NH recognition motifs

•Review of anion recognition by transition metal complexes with different types of polarized N–H recognition units.•Anion sensing studies of ruthenium(II), rhenium(I) and iridium(III) polypyridyl complexes are discussed.•Luminescence and colorimetric sensor systems are reviewed.

Transition-metal complexes for anion recognition and sensing have attracted increasing attention due to their rich spectroscopic and luminescent properties upon interacting with anions. In this review, we summarize the recent progress made with transition-metal complexes for anion sensing purposes. We focus on ruthenium(II), rhenium(I) and iridium(III) polypyridyl complexes with different polarized NH recognition motifs acting as the anion receptors.

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