H+-Assisted fluorescent differentiation of Cu+ and Cu2+: effect of Al3+-induced acidity on chemical sensing and generation of two novel and independent logic gating pathways

Abstract

A novel Schiff base probe exhibited strong ‘turn-ON’ fluorescence for Cu²⁺ at 345 nm, Al³⁺ at 445 nm, and Cu⁺ at 360 nm in the presence of Al³⁺ in organic solvent (acetonitrile), which allowed for construction of molecular logic gates ‘INH’ and ‘1:2 DEMULTIPLEXING.’ H⁺ generated from Al³⁺ contributed greatly to Cu⁺ chemosensing based on a redox non-innocence mechanism.