A highly selective and ratiometric fluorescent probe for cyanide by rationally altering the susceptible H-atom

A highly selective and ratiometric fluorescent probe for cyanide was rationally designed and synthesized. The probe comprises a fluorophore unit of naphthalimide and a CN^- acceptor of methylated trifluoroacetamide group. For these previous reported trifluoroacetamide derivative-based cyanide chemosensors, the H-atom of amide adjacent to trifluoroacetyl group is susceptible to be attacked by various anions (CN^- itself, F^-, AcO^-, et al.) and even the solvent molecule, which resulted in the bewildered reaction mechanism and poor selectivity of the assay. In this work, the susceptible H-atom of trifluoroacetamide was artfully substituted by alkyl group. Thus a highly specific fluorescent probe was developed for cyanide sensing. Upon the nucleophilic addition of cyanide anion to the carbonyl of trifluoroacetamide moiety of the probe, the ICT process of the probe was significantly enhanced and leading to a remarkable red shift in both absorption and emission spectra of the probe. This fluorescent assay showed a linear range of 1.0-80.0µM and a LOD (limit of detection) of 0.23µM. All the investigated interference have no influence on the sensing behavior of the probe toward cyanide. Moreover, by coating on TLC plate, the probe can be utilized for practical detection of trace cyanide in water samples.