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A simple pyridine-based colorimetric chemosensor for highly sensitive and selective mercury(II) detection with the naked eye

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Abstract

Two easily-prepared pyridine-based derivatives of (Z)-2-(4-amino-phenyl)-3-(pyridine-4-yl)acrylonitrile (I)and (Z)-2-phenyl-3-(pyridin-4-yl)acrylonitrile (II) were designed, synthesised and characterised. Due to the formation of a complex with Hg2+, hence leading to an enhanced ICT effect, I exhibits a visible colour change from light yellow to orange, rendering it suitable for use as a naked-eye sensor for rapid detection of Hg2+ in an aqueous ethanol solution. When mixed with Hg2+, I interacts with Hg2+ in a2:1 (Y1-Hg2+) stoichiometry via a coordination bond with an association constant of 7.7 × 108 M−2 (R2 = 0.96). The present probe I exhibits excellent reproducibility, reversibility, sensitivity and selectivity with the presence of low concentration of Hg2+ (1.74 × 10−10 M).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Materials of Anhui Province, Anhui University, Hefei, 230039, China

    Jian-Ting Pan, Fei Zhu, Lin Kong, Long-Mei Yang, Yu-Peng Tian & Jia-Xiang Yang

  2. State Key Laboratory Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, 502100, China

    Xu-Tang Tao & Jia-Xiang Yang

  3. Academy of Opto-Electronic Technology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230026, China

    Hong-Bo Lu & Jia-Xiang Yang

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  1. Jian-Ting Pan
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  2. Fei Zhu
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  3. Lin Kong
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Correspondence to Jia-Xiang Yang.

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Pan, JT., Zhu, F., Kong, L. et al. A simple pyridine-based colorimetric chemosensor for highly sensitive and selective mercury(II) detection with the naked eye. Chem. Pap. 69, 527–535 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1515/chempap-2015-0061

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