Luminescent Chemosensors Based on Anthracene or Dioxyxanthone Derivatives

Chemosensors are molecules of abiotic origin that are able to bind selectively and reversibly the analyte of interest with a concomitant change in the property of the system. They find wide applications in lots of disciplines and our work is directed to develop new species for future applications. We present here the latest luminescent chemosensors studied in our laboratory. The chosen luminophore moieties are anthracene and dioxyxanthone derivatives that have been differently connected with receptor units such as crown ethers and thioethers. In solution a good selectivity and affinity was observed for different ions such as Na⁺, K⁺, Cs⁺, Ba²⁺, Sr²⁺, Ca²⁺ and Ag⁺. The binding is signaled in all cases by pronounced changes in the photophysical properties of the luminophore present in the structure of the chemosensor.