A ratiometric turn-on fluorescent probe for the detection of BF₃ based on imidazole-quinoline

In this study, a novel ratiometric fluorescent sensor SYW for the detection of BF₃ was successfully synthesized based on imidazole-quinoline. The sensor showed noticeable fluorescence enhancement after binding to BF₃ with remarkable color change observed by naked eye in a short response time (within 30 s). Additionally, the probe had an extremely low detection limit (1.71 nM) and exhibited excellent specificity for BF₃. The recognition mechanism of the probe SYW for BF₃ was determined by ¹⁹F NMR, FTIR, HRMS, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Moreover, the probe can also be applied in quantitatively detecting BF₃ concentrations as well as gaseous BF₃ by test paper strips containing SYW. In addition, the probe SYW was also employed to detect BF₃ in living cells. These results suggested that the probe SYW displayed promising applications in environmental monitoring, and industrial production, and biological systems.