p-tert-Butylcalix[4]arene core based ferrocenyl dendrimers: Novel sensor for toxic Hg2+ ion even in presence of Zn2+, Cu2+ and Ag+ ions

A new class of p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene cored triazolyl ferrocene conjugates 1-3 has been synthesized in good yield using copper(I) catalyzed alkyne azide cycloaddition (CuAAC). In UV-vis spectrum the absorption intensity increases as the dendrimer generation increases though lambda(max) remains almost constant for all the synthesized dendrimers. All the synthesized calixarene conjugated ferrocenyl dendrimers 1,2 and 3 sense toxic Hg2+ ion at the lowest concentration of 2 x 10(-5)M even in the presence of Zn2+, Cu2+, Ag+ as revealed by Cyclic Voltammetric and through NMR titration studies. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.