title: Cation sensors based on terpyridine-functionalized boradiazaindacene.
abstract: A new class of highly luminescent dyes is reported. The characteristic feature of these compounds is that a terpyridine fragment is closely appended to a boradiazaindacene moiety in such a way that cation binding to the vacant terpyridine causes strong perturbations of the photophysical properties of the boradiazaindacene unit. In particular, these sensors are especially applicable to the fluorescence detection of trace quantities of zinc(II) ions in solution. The mechanism of the cation-induced quenching process has been investigated by a combination of electrochemistry, UV/Vis absorption, emission, and NMR spectroscopy. Highly luminescent arrays can be formed by doping transparent polymers with low concentrations of these new dyes. In such materials, the change in photophysical properties upon cation binding is so marked that "cation writing" becomes feasible under routine conditions.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Chimie Moléculaire Associé ou CNRS, ECPM 25 rue Becquerel, 67087 Strasbourg Cedex 02, France.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Goze
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ulrich
authors.forename: Loïc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Charbonnière
authors.forename: Michèle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cesario
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Prangé
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ziessel