A highly selective chemosensor for copper ion based on ICT fluorescence

Simple structural compounds 1 to 3 were synthesized.The presence of Cu²⁺ resulted in the fluorescence and absorption spectra change of 1 and 2,which indicated that 1 and 2 showed a highly selective response to Cu²⁺ over other metal ions.However,3 showed no selectivity for metal ions,which means that the compound could bind with several metal ions,such as,Ni²⁺,Zn²⁺,Cd²⁺.Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺,Fe³⁺,Mg²⁺,Ca²⁺,and Co²⁺,except Cu²⁺ and Ag⁺.The different spectral responses were attributed to the difference in binding sites for 1 and 3.