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Published on: January 9, 2017
A new Hg(2+) -selective fluorescent sensor based on a 1,3-alternate thiacalix[4]arene anchored with four
L Praveen1, V B Ganga, R Thirumalai
1Chemical Sciences and Technology Division, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, NIST (Formerly Regional Research Laboratory), CSIR, Thiruvananthapuram, India.
Abstract:
A new thiacalix [4]arene derivative in a 1,3-alternate conformation bearing four quinolinoloxy groups through propyl chains has been synthesized, and its metal ion-binding and fluorescence-sensing properties were investigated in both THF and 10% H2O-THF systems. The designed ligand exhibited pronounced Hg2+ -selective on-off type fluoroionophoric properties among the representative transition and heavy metal ions including Cu2+. The detection limit for Hg2+ was found to be 2.0 x 10(-6) M in the mixed H2O-THF system. Detailed spectral studies including 1H NMR and MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy reveal the unusual formation of a tetramercury complex with the ligand, in which the four propyl arms containing the quinolinoloxy groups adopt a "tetrapodand" conformation enclosing one Hg2+ ion each in the four cavities thus formed.
