Straightforward synthesis of ferrocenyl-based thioether and application as chemosensor for Hg2+ ion

A simple and efficient strategy of constructing ferrocene-based thioether ligands through metal-free reductive coupling of thiols with N-tosylhydrazones bearing a ferrocenyl group has been developed. This method features metal-free, good functional group tolerance, and readily available starting materials. Moreover, the compound 3k as a novel chemosensor has shown excellent recognition towards Hg2+ ion via optical and electrochemical signals. Quantification of the absorption titration analysis shows that the detection limit was 9.56×10−7 M for 3k-Hg2+.

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