Design, synthesis and properties of a reactive chromophoric/fluorometric probe for hydrogen peroxide detection

Abstract

As the most important starting material and degradation product of peroxide explosives, H₂O₂ is considered as a signature compound for peroxide-based explosives. A new probe, (2-(2,6-bis((E)-2-(10-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)anthracen-9-yl)vinyl)-4H-pyran-4-ylidene)malononitrile) (AVPM), for both chromophoric/fluorometric detection of H₂O₂ was designed and synthesized. AVPM emitted a long wavelength emission from its intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) and hence its absorption was expanded to the visible region. The response rate and sensitivity of AVPM for H₂O₂ detection were tremendously improved (91% of the fluorescence was quenched within 2 min for H₂O₂) by adding triethylamine (TEA) into the probe solution. And the solution color changed from yellow to blue. A detection limit down to 17.58 nM is remarkably achieved. These features lead to a new chromophoric/fluorometric probe for H₂O₂ detection and make it an ideal candidate for chemical detection and analysis in public safety and environmental monitoring.