A sensitive fluorescent sensor for highly sensitive detection of trace water in organic solvents based on substituted imidazole

A novel substituted imidazole derivative 1a with carboxyl and quinoline structure has been designed and synthesized. And our initial discovery is that this compound can effectively detect trace amounts of water in ethanol. And the metal in solution couldn’t affect the absorption and fluorescence Spectra of 1a. With the addition of water, the energy band appears a red-shift from 330nm to 355nm in the absorption spectra. And the emission spectrum undergoes an important change in its fluorescent effect in the presence of water. Furthermore, absorption peak of 1a displays a red-shift with increasing pH from 2.31 to 10.72. All available data (absorption and emission) strongly support the possible mechanism. Due to the pronounced fluorescence changing property, the substituted imidazole derivative 1a could be utilized as fluorescent probes for quantifying trace amount of water in ethanol. Graphic abstract

Four imidazole derivative AIEE Luminophores: Sensitive detection of explosives

Luminescent materials with aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) have been paid increasing attention as chemosensors. Four AIEE active imidazole derivatives with TPA moiety, M-MAP, M01-DMAC, M-IF, and M01-IF have been developed...