Dyes That Bear Thiazolylazo Groups as Chromogenic Chemosensors for Metal Cations

Dabcyl as a Naked Eye Colorimetric Chemosensor for Palladium Detection in Aqueous Medium

Industrial activity has raised significant concerns regarding the widespread pollution caused by metal ions, contaminating ecosystems and causing adverse effects on human health. Therefore, the development of sensors for selective and sensitive detection of these analytes is extremely important. In this regard, an azo dye, Dabcyl 2, was synthesised and investigated for sensing metal ions with environmental and industrial relevance. The cation binding character of 2 was evaluated by colour changes as seen by the naked eye, UV-Vis and 1H NMR titrations in aqueous mixtures of SDS (0.02 M, pH 6) solution with acetonitrile (99:1, v/v). Out of the several cations tested, chemosensor 2 had a selective response for Pd2+, Sn2+ and Fe3+, showing a remarkable colour change visible to the naked eye and large bathochromic shifts in the UV-Vis spectrum of 2. This compound was very sensitive for Pd2+, Sn2+ and Fe3+, with a detection limit as low as 5.4 × 10-8 M, 1.3 × 10-7 M and 5.2 × 10-8 M, respectively. Moreover, comparative studies revealed that chemosensor 2 had high selectivity towards Pd2+ even in the presence of other metal ions in SDS aqueous mixtures.

Multifunctional Janus Particles Composed of Azo Polymer and Pyrene-Containing Polymer

This study investigated Janus particles (JPs) composed of an azo polymer and a pyrene-containing polymer, focusing on preparation, formation mechanism, photoinduced deformation behavior, and fluorescent properties as well as tunable colors of the dispersions. A methacrylate-based copolymer containing pyrenyl groups (P(MMA-co-PyMA)) and two azo polymers, i.e., a methacrylate-based polymer (PCNAZO) and an epoxy-based polymer (CH-TZ-NT) both bearing push-pull-type azo chromophores, were synthesized for this purpose. Two types of Janus particles, P(MMA-co-PyMA)/PCNAZO JPs and P(MMA-co-PyMA)/CH-TZ-NT JPs, were fabricated through microphase separation of the components in the droplets dispersed in aqueous media, induced by the evaporation of the organic solvent. The process of JP formation was thoroughly investigated by exploiting the function of pyrene moieties as a molecular probe through measuring the fluorescence emission spectra at different times during the structure evolution. The photoluminescent (PL) intensity, excimer emission, and vibrational fine structure of the fluorescence spectra were observed to give information about phase separation and solidification occurred in the dispersed droplets. The observations were rationalized by analysis with ternary phase diagrams calculated on the basis of the Flory-Huggins theory. Upon irradiation with a linearly polarized laser beam at 488 nm, the azo polymer parts in the P(MMA-co-PyMA)/PCNAZO JPs were observed to be elongated along the electric vibration direction of the polarized light and transformed into particles with unique morphologies. The dispersions of JPs with different compositions of the two types of the polymers showed highly tunable color changes originating from both fluorescence of the pyrenyl fluorophores and light absorption of the azo chromophores.

Arsenic Monitoring in Water by Colorimetry Using an Optimized Leucomalachite Green Method

Arsenic contamination of drinking water is a global concern. Standard laboratory methods that are commonly used for arsenic detection in water, such as atomic absorption spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy, are not suitable for mass monitoring purposes. Autonomous microfluidic detection systems combined with a suitable colorimetric reagent could provide an alternative to standard methods. Moreover, microfluidic detection systems would enable rapid and cost efficient in situ monitoring of water sources without the requirement of laborious sampling. The aim of this study is to optimize a colorimetric method based on leucomalachite green dye for integration into a microfluidic detection system. The colorimetric method is based on the reaction of arsenic (III) with potassium iodate in acid medium to liberate iodine, which oxidizes leucomalachite green to malachite green. A rapid colour development was observed after the addition of the dye. Beer's law was obeyed in the range between 0.07⁻3 µg mL-1. The detection limit and quantitation limit were found to be 0.19 and 0.64 µg mL-1, respectively.

Raposo MM, Martínez-Máñez R, Sancenón F. N,N-Diphenylanilino-heterocyclic aldehyde-based chemosensors for UV-vis/NIR and fluorescence Cu(ii) detection

Cu(ii) coordination with aldehyde-containing probes induced the appearance of NIR bands coupled with remarkable colour changes.

Identification of tautomeric intermediates of a novel thiazolylazonaphthol dye - A density functional theory study

The recently synthesized thiazolylazo dye, 1-[5-benzyl-1,3-thiazol-2-yl)diazenyl]naphthalene-2-ol called shortly BnTAN, is studied by density functional theory (DFT) in three tautomeric forms in order to explain the available ¹H NMR, UV-Vis and FTIR spectra. An experimentally observed IR band at 1678 cm^-1, assigned to the CO bond stretching vibration, supports the notion that BnTAN retains in the less stable keto-form even in the solid state due to an ultrafast single-coordinate intramolecular proton transfer. This finding is also in a good agreement with an X-ray crystallography analysis which indicates an intermediate position of the proton between the -OH and -N=N- groups. Calculations also show that some experimentally observed ¹H NMR signals could be considered as being averaged values between theoretically calculated chemical shifts for the corresponding protons in the keto- and enol-tautomers. At the same time the UV-Vis spectra are almost insensitive to the tautomerization processes as the main single band absorption at 500 nm is present in all tautomers according to our TD DFT simulations. The minor differences in spectral features of the long-wavelength visible region are also noted and discussed with respect to the manifestation of the less stable tautomer form.

Raposo MM, Sancenón F. A dual channel sulphur-containing a macrocycle functionalised BODIPY probe for the detection of Hg(ii) in a mixed aqueous solution

Probe 1, containing a BODIPY fluorophore, was able to selectively detect Hg(ii) in water–acetonitrile 95 : 5 solutions by marked colour changes and emission enhancement.

Supramolecular analyte recognition: experiment and theory interplay

Synergy of experimental and theoretical tools has made significant impact in the assessment of supramolecular recognition of analytes of relevance to biology and the environment.

Dependence of the optical absorption and Na+ binding energies of coumarin-crown ethers on the size and attachment position of ether ring: density functional investigation

The crowned coumarin complexes are well known compounds for their ion recognition abilities. They undergo photophysical changes upon cation binding. On the basis of density functional theory calculations, we examined the sodium cation (Na+) binding energies of coumarin-crown ethers based on 15-Crown-5 (15 C5) and 18-Crown-6 (18 C6) as well as the optical absorptions of coumarin-crown ethers based on 12-Crown-4 (12 C4), 15 C5 and 18 C6. We explored why the attachment of crown ether ring to coumarin affects the Na+ binding energies of coumarin-crown ethers and also why the optical absorption of coumarin is modified by the crown ethers. Our study reveals that the Na+ ion binding energies of coumarin-crown ethers depend strongly on the size of the crown ether ring and also on the attachment position of the ether ring on coumarin. These factors affect the intramolecular charge transfer and overall stability of the complexes. The absorptions of the coumarin and ether ring parts of coumarin-crown ether are red shifted from those of isolated coumarin and crown ether, respectively. The red-shift of the coumarin ester group absorption is much stronger depending on the attachment position of the ether ring to coumarin. The absorption intensity of the coumarin part in coumarin-crown ethers is reduced for the benzene group absorption, but is enhanced for the ester group absorption.