AIEE-driven highly sensitive fluorescent probe for Fe³⁺ sensing in aqueous and solid phases: application in...

Area of Science:

• Chemical sensing
• Fluorescent probes
• Materials science

Background:

• Fluorescent probes are crucial for detecting metal ions.
• Aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) offers unique optical properties.
• Developing selective and sensitive probes for Fe3+ is important for environmental and biological monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize a novel fluorescein-based fluorescent probe (FHP) with AIEE properties.
• To investigate the sensing capabilities of FHP for Fe3+ ions.
• To explore the interaction mechanism between FHP and Fe3+.

Main Methods:

• Systematic design and synthesis of the FHP probe.
• Fluorescence and UV-visible spectroscopy for sensing and interaction studies.
• Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and 1H-NMR titration.
• Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations for theoretical analysis.

Main Results:

• The synthesized FHP probe exhibits AIEE properties with a maximum emission at 516 nm.
• FHP demonstrates sensitive and selective detection of Fe3+ in both solution and solid states.
• Fluorescence quenching of FHP by Fe3+ allows for detection down to 253 nM.
• DFT calculations confirm non-covalent interactions and elucidate electronic properties of the FHP-Fe3+ complex.

Conclusions:

• The novel FHP probe is effective for the convenient and cost-efficient sensing of Fe3+.
• The probe shows potential for practical applications in biological samples.
• The study provides insights into the sensing mechanism and theoretical properties of the probe.