A coumarin-based fluorescent probe for hydrazine detection and its applications in real water samples and living cells

Abstract

Hydrazine (N2H4) is an extremely important reagent in industrial fields, but it can cause huge damage to human being and environment. Herein, a novel coumarin-based fluorescent probe CHY was designed and developed for hydrazine detection. The probe CHY exhibited no remarkable fluorescence in solution and showed an obvious fluorescence enhancement response toward hydrazine. Moreover, it could detect hydrazine with excellent selectivity, strong anti-interference and high sensitivity within a wide range of pH from 5 to 9. The limit of detection (LOD) of CHY for hydrazine was calculated to be 2.4 × 10−8 M, which was lower than the standard advised by the Environmental Protection Agency (3.12 × 10−7 M). The detection mechanism of CHY toward hydrazine was investigated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and 1H NMR titration. In addition, CHY was successfully utilized to monitor hydrazine in real water samples, and has the capability of imaging hydrazine in living zebrafish.