title: Catechol derivatives as fluorescent chemosensors for wide-range pH detection.
abstract: The synthesis and characterization of a new family of catechol derivatives designed to behave as fluorescent chemosensors for wide-range pH detection has been described. These compounds were prepared by covalently coupling a catechol unit with other aromatic rings, thus obtaining pi-delocalized systems with both pH-responsive groups and fluorescent behavior. In the case of a pyridine-catechol derivative, this leads to up to three different protonation states with distinct optical properties in organic media, as corroborated by density functional theory calculations. By applying dual-wavelength detection techniques, this compound shows complementary "off-on-off" and "on-off-on" emission profiles upon pH variation, a behavior that can be exploited to perform acidity detection over a broad pH range.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (CSIC), Esfera UAB, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès (Spain).
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Evangelio
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hernando
authors.forename: Inhar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Imaz
authors.forename: Gisela G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Bardají
authors.forename: Ramon
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alibés
authors.forename: Félix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Busqué
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Molina