Novel quinoxalinophenanthrophenazine-based molecules as sensors for anions: synthesis and binding investigations

The design and synthesis of two novel quinoxalinophenanthrophenazine-based anion sensors are reported. Binding studies of these sensors with an array of mono- and polyatomic anions using UV-vis, fluorescence, and NMR titrations have shown 1:1 and 1:2 sensor-to-anion ratios. Binding constants were calculated for anions, which exhibited high affinity for the sensors, including acetate, benzoate, cyanide, and fluoride ions.

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