A novel benzothiazole-based enaminone as a fluorescent probe for highly selective and sensitive detection of CN−

Abstract

A novel benzothiazole derived enaminone BTP as a fluorescent probe for CN⁻ recognition has been developed. In DMSO/H₂O (95/5, v/v, HEPES 10 mM, pH = 7.4) solution, BTP exhibits high selectivity toward CN⁻ among various anions through colorimetric and fluorescence dual channel changes. On treatment with CN⁻, BTP displays a blue shifted fluorescence enhancement and a naked eye observable color change from orange to yellow green. Moreover, the CN⁻ sensing event possesses an excellent anti-interference ability over other anions. Sensing mechanism investigations prove that the CN⁻ recognition process undergoes a typical nucleophilic addition of CN⁻ to the enaminone formed BTP. Simple test paper experiments evidenced the practicability of BTP for CN⁻ detection.