A novel diarylethene-hydrazinopyridine-based probe for fluorescent detection of aluminum ion and naked-eye detection of hydroxide ion

Abstract

A novel photochromic diarylethene derivative 1o with hydrazinopyridine as a functional group was designed and synthesized. It had multi-responsively photoswitchable properties under various stimulations (UV/vis lights and chemical substances). Compound 1o could be served as a potential fluorescent probe to selectively and sensitively detect Al3+. When Al3+ was added to 1o, complex 1o′ (1o-Al3+) exhibited an obviously strong fluorescence with a significant fluorescence color change from dark to bright green. Moreover, compound 1o could be used as a selective ‘naked-eye’ colorimetric sensor for OH−, in which OH− made the ring-closed absorption band of 1c to display an obvious red-shift from 554nm to 662nm with a notable color change from violet to blue. In addition, two logic circuits were constructed based on the multi-responsive properties of 1o induced by light and chemical stimulations (one contained four input signals (In1: 297nm light, In2:>500nm light, In3: Al3+, In4: EDTA) and an output signal (O1: fluorescence intensity at 534nm), another contained three input signals (In1: 297nm light, In5: NaOH, and In6: HCl) and an output signal (O2: absorbance at 662nm).