Highly selective fluorescent chemosensor based on benzothiazole for detection of Zn2+

Abstract

Chemical detection of Zn2+ ion plays an important role in both environmental and biological systems. In this paper, a new chemosensor based on benzothiazole was designed and synthesized. The fluorescent intensity of the chemosensor enhanced significantly with existence of Zn2+ ion. The control experiments show that the analogous ions (Pb2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Mn2+, Cu2+, Mg2+, Cd2+, Na+ and K+) do not have fluorescence enhancement effect; and some of them even quench the fluorescence dramatically. The intensity increase upon addition of Zn2+ is due to the coordination between Zn2+ and benzothiazole. This chemosensor shows a high sensitivity for Zn2+ with a detection limit as low as 7.5×10−7molL−1 and high selectivity through a ‘turn-on’ fluorescence response over the other tested metal ions.