Diarylethene-based fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensor for the selective detection of Al3+ and CN−

Abstract

A selective fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensor for the detection of Al3+ and CN− was constructed from diarylethene with a salicylidene Schiff base. When triggered by Al3+, the diarylethene exhibited a remarkable fluorescence color change from dark to bright green. The interaction between its open-ring and closed-ring isomer with CN− caused a notable change in its absorption spectrum with significant color change from colorless to yellow and pink to darkcyan, respectively. Additionally, its light and metal-responsive fluorescence behaviors could be applied to logic gate with the fluorescence intensity as output and combinational stimuli of light and chemical species as inputs.