Acylhydrazone based fluorescent chemosensor for zinc in aqueous solution with high selectivity and sensitivity

•Sensor L demonstrates specifically selective fluorescence recognition to Zn2+.•Receptor L shows highly sensitive fluorescence turn on response for Zn2+.•The probe L responds with Zn2+ in aqueous solution system.•Test strips of L was prepared and convenient and rapidly detected Zn2+.•Chemosensor L was designed with ease of synthesis.

A simple chemosensor L bearing an acylhydrazone group as binding site and naphthalene group as the fluorescence signal group was described and synthesized, which showed a fluorescence turn-on response for Zn2+ over other metals ions such as Fe3+, Hg2+, Ag+, Ca2+, Cu2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, Cr3+ and Mg2+ in aqueous solutions with specific selectivity and high sensitivity. When zinc is added, the probe L shows an immediate visible change of fluorescence color in aqueous solution; while other cations do not cause obvious color change. In addition, further study demonstrates the detection limit on fluorescence response of the sensor to Zn2+ is down to 9.3 × 10−8 M. Moreover, test strips based on the sensor L were fabricated, which could act as a convenient and efficient Zn2+ test kit. Therefore, the probe should be potential application in both the environment and biological systems for the monitoring of zinc.

Graphical abstractA novel zinc chemosensor L based on acylhydrazone group as binding site and naphthalene group as the fluorescence signal group has been designed and synthesized. The sensor L demonstrates highly selective and specifically sensitive fluorescence “turn on” recognition to Zn2+ in aqueous solution system.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide