A novel colorimetric sensor of dihydrogen-phosphate based on metal complex between 8-hydroxy quinoline-5-azo-4'-nitrobenzene and cobalt.

A novel colorimetric sensor based on 8-hydroxy quinoline-5-azo-4'-nitrobenzene (1) was prepared and used for recognizing anions. 1 and its metal complex (1.Co) were found to show response to anions such as CH(3)CO(2)(-), H(2)PO(4)(-), HSO(4)(-), F(-) and dramatic color changes were observed. The selectivity and sensitivity of 1 and 1.Co for sensing anions were different, which was in the order of CH(3)CO(2)(-)>F(-)>H(2)PO(4)(-)>>HSO(4)(-) for 1 and H(2)PO(4)(-)>HSO(4)(-)>CH(3)CO(2)(-) approximately F(-) for 1.Co, respectively. In CH(3)CN, sensor 1.Co exhibited excellent specificity toward H(2)PO(4)(-), and the color variety was dependent on the concentration of H(2)PO(4)(-) which was attributed to anion structure and stability of anionic complex (1-anion), metal complex (1-Co) and inorganic complex (Co-anion).