A New High Selective and Sensitive Fluorescent Probe for Al3+ based on Photochromic Salicylaldehyde Hydrazyl Diarylethene.

A new diarylethene derivative 1O decorated with a salicylaldehyde hydrazine moiety was designed and synthesized successfully, and its structure was confirmed by NMR. Diarylethene 1O showed eminent photochromism and high selectivity and sensitivity for Al3+ with turn-on fluorescent performance. As the concentration of Al3+ in 1O solution increased, the color of solution remarkably changed from dark to bright green with 313-fold fluorescent emission intensity enhancement. The 1:1 combination stoichiometry between 1O and Al3+ was verified by Job's plot and MS analysis. The association constant between 1O and Al3+ was 3.9 × 102 mol-1 L, and the limit of detection toward Al3+ was 7.98 × 10-9 mol L-1. Meanwhile, the probe can be utilized in practical water and logic circuits.