Abstract
Highly water-soluble fluorescent polyaromatic-based imidazolium compounds capable of detecting a wide-range of nitroaromatics, e.g., nitrophenols and picric acid in aqueous solution with fully quenched fluorescence are reported. The two probes contained an anthracene and pyrene group with the increased size and angularity of the pyrene ring in pyrene-based imidazolium (PIM) raising the hydrophobicity or π-π stacking and sensitivity of the probe towards all mono-, di-, and trinitrophenols even under harsh conditions (pH 4-8). The high affinity for nitrophenols was confirmed by single crystal X-ray crystallography. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) reveals cation-anion interactions between the imidazolium and picrate ions causing fluorescent quenching through PET and charge transfer involving a dark S1 excited state.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
