Karmakar M, Bhatta SR, Giri S, Thakur A. Oxidation-Induced Differentially Selective Turn-On Fluorescence via Photoinduced Electron Transfer Based on a Ferrocene-Appended Coumarin-Quinoline Platform: Application in Cascaded Molecular Logic.
Inorg Chem 2020;
59:4493-4507. [PMID:
32159340 DOI:
10.1021/acs.inorgchem.9b03650]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Differentially selective molecular sensors that exhibit differential response toward multiple analytes are cost-effective and in high demand for various practical applications. A novel, highly differentially selective electrochemical and fluorescent chemosensor, 5, based on a ferrocene-appended coumarin-quinoline platform has been designed and synthesized. Our designed probe is very specific toward Fe3+ via a reversible redox process, whereas it detects Cu2+ via irreversible oxidation. Interestingly, it exhibits differential affinity toward the Cu+ ion via complexation. High-resolution mass spectrometry, 1H NMR titration, and IR spectral studies revealed the formation of a bidentate Cu+ complex involving an O atom of the amide group attached to the quinoline ring and a N atom of imine unit, and this observation was further supported by quantum-chemical calculations. The metal binding responses were further investigated by UV-vis, fluorescence spectroscopy, and electrochemical analysis. Upon the addition of Fe3+ and Cu2+ ions, the fluorescence emission of probe 5 shows a "turn-on" signal due to inhibition of the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process from a donor ferrocene unit to an excited-state fluorophore. The addition of sodium l-ascorbate (LAS) as a reducing agent causes fluorescence "turn off" for the Fe3+ ion because of reemergence of the PET process but not for the Cu2+ ion because it oxidizes the ferrocene unit to a ferrocenium ion with its concomitant reduction to Cu+, which further complexes with 5. Thermodynamic calculations using the Weller equation along with density functional theory calculations validate the feasibility of the PET process. A unique combination of Fe3+, LAS, and Cu2+ ions has been used to produce a molecular system demonstrating combinational "AND-OR" logic operation.
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