A homochiral luminescent compound with four-fold symmetry as a potential chemosensor for nitroanilines

Abstract

A homochiral compound of a dansylated amino acid ligand, [Cu₂(HTyr-N-Dan)₄(H₂O)₂]·2H₂O (1) (H₂Tyr-N-Dan = N-dansyltyrosine), is synthesized and crystallographically characterized. Its supramolecular chain structure is formed via intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the phenolic and the sulfato groups of the ligand while the intra-ligand π–π interactions exist between the aromatic rings of the dansyl and the tyrosine moiety of the ligand. Utilizing the luminescent property, selective sensing of nitroanilines by both the ligand and 1 is demonstrated.