New 1,8-naphthalimide-based colorimetric fluorescent probe for specific detection of hydrazine and its...

Detection of hydrazine is particularly important given its toxicity and extensive application in various industries. In the present paper, a colorimetric fluorescent probe NI-CIN based on 1,8-naphthalimide derivative was rationally designed and simply synthesized for specific detection of hydrazine based on the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) mechanism. Upon the addition of hydrazine, a significant fluorescence enhancement at 556 nm could be observed within 4 min with a distinct color change from colorless to bright yellow, readily observed by naked eye. Except for HRMS and ¹H NMR, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were also performed to support the sensing mechanism. In addition, eco-friendly paper test strips were easily prepared by NI-CIN for selective and real-time detection of hydrazine under aqueous and vapor phases. Furthermore, NI-CIN shows many potential applications for detecting hydrazine in real water and soil samples along with bio-imaging in HepG-2 cells and zebrafish.