FULL PAPER
DOI: 10.1002/cjoc.201200741
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A Highly Selective Colorimetric Sensor for Cu2 Based on
Phenolic Group Biscarbonyl Hydrazone
Junjian Li, Ying Guo, Hong Yao, Qi Lin, Yongqiang Xie, Taibao Wei,* and Youming Zhang*
Key Laboratory of Eco-Environment-Related Polymer Materials, Ministry of Education of China; Key Laboratory
of Polymer Materials of Gansu Province; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal
University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730070, China
A novel copper selective sensor 2 based on hydrazide and salicylaldehyde has been designed and prepared.
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Sensor 2 behaves a single selectivity and sensitivity in the recognition for Cu2 over other metal ions such as Fe3
Hg2 , Ag+, Ca2 , Zn2 , Pb2 , Cd2 , Ni2 , Co2 , Cr3 and Mg2 in DMSO. The distinct color change and the rapid
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changement of fluorescence emission provide naked-eyes detection for Cu2+. The UV-vis data indicate that 1∶2
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stoichiometry complex is formed by sensor 2 and Cu2 . The association constant Ks was 3.51×104 mol−1•L. The
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detection limitation of Cu2 with the sensor 2 was 2.2×10−7 mol•L−1. The sensing of Cu2 by this sensor was
found to be reversible, with the Cu2+-induced color being lost upon addition of EDTA.
Keywords copper ion, colorimetric sensor, biscarbonyl hydrazone, single selectivity
Introduction
are highly demanded.[19-22]
Herein, as one part of our research interest in supra-
molecular recognitions,[23-27] we attempted to design an
easily synthesized, highly selective, and sensitive sen-
In recent years, the design and exploration of chemo-
sensors probes for the detection of transition metal ions
have been received extensive attention because chemo-
sensors have several advantages such as high selectivity,
sensitivity, and real-time monitoring over other meth-
ods.[1,2] Among transition metal ions, copper is one of
the important elements in humans, and is present at low
levels in a variety of cells and tissues with the highest
concentration in the liver.[3,4] Copper is utilized in sev-
eral physiological responses and copper containing pro-
teins are useful as redox catalysts in biological proc-
esses such as electron transfer or oxidation of various
organic substrates.[5,6] However, chronic copper over-
load or exposure to excess copper by accidents and en-
vironmental contamination can lead to oxidative dam-
age.[7] Therefore, the rational design and synthesis of
efficient sensors to selectively recognize copper cation
is an important field of supramolecular chemistry.[8-13]
Although previous work developed a wide variety of
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sors for Cu2 . We have designed and synthesized sen-
sors 1, 2 and 3 which bear phenol and carbonyl hydra-
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zone groups. Our strategies for designing of Cu2
colorimetric sensors are as follows: firstly, in order to
allow the coordination capacity required to coordinate a
copper ion, we introduced phenol groups into the same
sensor molecule. Secondly, to achieve “naked-eye”
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recognition upon binding of Cu2 , we introduced nitro-
phenyl groups as a chromophore. Thirdly, a carbonyl
hydrazone structure was used to significantly enhance
intramolecular charge transfer. Interestingly, sensor 2
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could “naked-eye” recognize Cu2 with high selectivity
and sensitivity in DMSO solution; other cations such as
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Fe3 , Hg2 , Ag+, Ca2 , Zn2 , Pb2 , Cd2 , Ni2 , Co2 ,
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Cr3 and Mg2 could not cause any interference.
chemical[14,15] and physical[16,17] sensors for the detec-
Experimental
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tion of Cu2 , it is still a challenge to design the ion sen-
Apparatus and reagents
sors with high selectivity and sensitivity in the context
of interference from coexisting metal ions. Moreover,
most of these methods require expensive equipment and
involve time-consuming and laborious procedures that
can be carried out only by trained professionals.[18] This
1H NMR spectra were recorded on a Mercury-
1
400BB spectrometer at 400 MHz. H chemical shifts
were reported in ppm downfield from tetramethylsilane
(TMS, δ scale with solvent resonances as internal stan-
dards). UV-vis spectra were recorded on a Shimadzu
UV-2550 spectrometer. Fluorescent spectra were re-
corded on a Shimadzu RF-5301 spectrometer. Melting
will significantly restrict the practical applications of
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these Cu2 sensors. For simplicity, convenience and
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low cost, the easily prepared Cu2 colorimetric sensors
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E-mail: weitaibao@126.com (Prof. T. B. Wei); zhangnwnu@126.com (Prof. Y. M. Zhang)
Received July 18, 2012; accepted October 17, 2012; published online December 11, 2012.
Chin. J. Chem. 2013, 31, 271—276
© 2013 SIOC, CAS, Shanghai, & WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
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