Tryptanthrin-malononitrile adduct for highly efficient turn-off fluorescent sensing of aniline

Abstract

The fluorescence quenching of 2-(8-chloro-12-oxo-12H-indolo[2,1-b]quinazolin-6-ylidene)-malononitrile (5a) by aniline was studied in detail. Time correlated single photon counting measurements (TCSPC) indicated that the quenching involved both static and dynamic mechanisms without ground state complex formation. The selectivity towards aniline sensing in presence of other amines/aromatics and the anti-interference studies together with the low LOD value indicates the potential of 5a as a molecular probe for aniline sensing which is unaffected by pH alteration as well.