Highly selective and sensitive fluorogenic ferric probes based on aggregation-enhanced emission with − SiMe3 substituted polybenzene

Abstract

In this study, thiophene was linked to polybenzene to generate novel fluorescent probes, namely 3,4-diphenyl-2,5-di(2-thienyl)phenyl-trimethylsilane (DPTB-TMS) with a −SiMe3 substituent and 3,4-diphenyl-2,5-di(2-thienyl)phenyl (DPTB) without the −SiMe3 substituent, respectively. Both of the two compounds exhibit aggregation-enhanced emission (AEE) properties in tetrahydrofuran/water mixtures due to restricted intramolecular rotation of the peripheral groups, which make the two compounds good candidates for the detection of Fe3+ ions in aqueous-based solutions. The fluorescence intensity of the two compounds decreases immediately and obviously upon addition of a trace amount of Fe3+, and decreases continuously as the amount of Fe3+ increases. The fluorescence was quenched to 92% of its initial intensity when the amount of Fe3+ ions reached 6μmol for DPTB-TMS and to 80% for DPTB in the systems, indicating that the compound with the −SiMe3 group is a more effective probe. The detection limit was found to be 1.17μM (65ppb). The detection mechanism is proposed to be static quenching. DPTB-TMS is highly efficient for the detection of ferric ions even in the presence of other metal ions. In addition, the method is also successfully applied to the detection of ferric ions in water, blood serum, or solid films. This indicates that these polybenzene compounds can be applied as low-cost, high selectivity, and high efficiency Fe3+ probes in water or in clinical applications.