The spectroscopic and computational study of anthracene based chemosensor - Ag⁺ interactions

Area of Science:

• Chemical Sensing
• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Silver ions (Ag+) are significant environmental pollutants.
• Selective and sensitive detection methods for Ag+ are crucial for environmental monitoring.
• Anthracene-based schiff bases offer potential as fluorescent sensors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize a novel anthracene-based schiff base sensor (AMC) for selective Ag+ detection.
• To investigate the recognition mechanism between AMC and Ag+.
• To evaluate the sensor's performance for quantitative analysis of Ag+ in real-world samples.

Main Methods:

• Spectroscopic techniques (absorption, emission spectroscopy).
• Electrochemical studies.
• Density Functional Theory (DFT) computational studies.
• High-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-HRMS).
• Titration and Job's plot analyses.

Main Results:

• Sensor AMC exhibited selective detection of Ag+ ions.
• A 50% decrease in emission intensity was observed upon Ag+ binding.
• Spectroscopic and computational studies confirmed a 1:1 stoichiometric ratio between AMC and Ag+.
• Quantitative parameters included a limit of detection (LOD) of 5.95 × 10⁻⁷ M and a limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 1.98 × 10⁻⁸ M.
• The sensor was successfully applied to detect Ag+ in real water samples.

Conclusions:

• The developed AMC sensor provides a selective and sensitive method for Ag+ detection.
• The sensor's mechanism involves a ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) phenomenon.
• AMC demonstrates practical applicability for environmental monitoring of silver ions.