title: A ratiometric chemodosimeter for highly selective naked-eye and fluorogenic detection of cyanide.
abstract: A simple indole-based chemosensor (1) with a very low molecular weight of 207 g mol(-1) has been synthesized for the highly reactive and selective detection of CN(-) in aqueous media, even in the presence of other anions, such as F(-), Cl(-), Br(-), AcO(-), [Formula: see text] , SCN(-), [Formula: see text] , [Formula: see text] , [Formula: see text] , BzO(-), [Formula: see text] , and [Formula: see text] . The sensor achieves rapid detection of cyanide anion in 2 min, and the pseudo-first-order rate constant is estimated as 1.576 min(-1). The colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescent response of the sensor to CN(-) is attributable to the addition of CN(-) to the electron-deficient dicyanovinyl group of 1, which prevents intramolecular charge transfer. The sensing mechanism is supported by density functional theory and time-dependent density functional theory calculations. Moreover, sensor 1 exhibits both high accuracy in determining the concentration of CN(-) in real samples and 1-based test strips can conveniently detect CN(-) without any additional equipment. The detection limit of the sensor 1 (1.1 μM) for cyanide is lower than the maximum permissible level of CN(-) (1.9 μM) in drinking water.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Feng Chia University, 40724 Taichung, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Wei-Chi
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Feng Chia University, 40724 Taichung, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Jiun-Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Feng Chia University, 40724 Taichung, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: kyuchen@fcu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Kew-Yu
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000838:Anions / Q000737:chemistry; D003124:Colorimetry; D003486:Cyanides / Q000032:analysis*; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007211:Indoles / Q000737:chemistry; D002365:Manihot / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D011789:Quantum Theory; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D000838:Anions; D003486:Cyanides; D060766:Drinking Water; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D007211:Indoles
keywords: Chemodosimeter; Colorimetric; Cyanide detection; Indole; Ratiometric fluorescence