Colorimetric and fluorescent “on–off” chemosensor for Cu2+ in semi-aqueous medium

Abstract

A colorimetric and fluorescent ‘on–off’ chemosensor 1 was developed for the selective and sensitive detection of Cu2+ over the other examined metal ions. Upon addition of Cu2+, sensor 1 exhibits moderate enhancement in the absorbance intensity with a naked-eye detectable colour change from colourless to yellow in DMSO/H2O (50:50, v/v). Also, the emission of 1 was selectively quenched in the presence Cu2+ with fast response and the detection limit was found to be 50 nM.