Fluorescent and colorimetric dual-mode chemosensor for easy detection of Cu2+ : Practical and smartphone-based application to test strip and water sample

A fluorescent and colorimetric dual-mode chemosensor HNHQ, based on the julolidine and naphthol moieties, was synthesized. Compound HNHQ exhibited unique photophysical properties of an intense fluorescence with a high quantum yield (Phi = 0.363) and a light yellow color through the ICT mechanism. HNHQ could detect Cu2+ through both a fluorescence turn-off and a colorimetry variation of light yellow to yellowish brown. HNHQ reacted with Cu2+ with a binding ratio of 1:1. The detection limit for Cu2+ was analyzed to be 1.60 mu M for fluorescence and 1.32 mu M for UV-vis, considerably below the safe value of 31.5 mu M established by the World Health Organization (WHO). HNHQ analyzed Cu2+ in the pH range of 6-8 and reversibly identified Cu2+ by using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Moreover, HNHQ could effectively detect Cu2+ in mineral and tap water samples, in addition to test strips through fluorescent and colorimetric changes. As a portable probe, HNHQ was successfully applied to a smartphone-based RGB analysis for the quantitative examination of Cu2+. The detection mechanism of HNHQ for Cu2+ was illustrated by 1H NMR titration, ESI-MS analysis, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations.