Study on acetate ion recognition and sensing in aqueous media using a novel and simple colorimetric sensor and its analytical application.

A new and simple phenylhydrazone-based sensor 1 for acetate has been investigated in DMSO and even in the 95:5 DMSO/H2O (v/v) mixtures. Binding of anions such as AcO-, F- and H2PO4(-) results in a noteworthy change in the visible region of spectrum (approximately 100 nm red shift), which can be detected by the 'naked-eye'. The further insights to the nature of interactions between the sensor 1 and AcO- were investigated by 1H NMR titration experiments in DMSO-d(6). In particular, analytical application and detection of acetate ion have been also studied in the aqueous.