ABSTRACT In this research work, an optical sensor based on donor‐acceptor Schiff base fluorescent chemosensor namely (E)‐4‐(4‐(diethylamino)‐2 hydroxy benzylidene amino)‐2‐(triflromethyl) benzonitrile) ( HL ) was successfully designed and developed for detecting three most essential and abundantly found elements namely Fe 3+ , Zn 2+ , and Cu 2+ . In absorption spectra, HL shows a drastic change in color with a possible to have naked eye detection with Fe 3+ whereas a noticeable isosbestic point was occurred with Zn 2+ . In emission spectra, fluorescence “on‐off” response with Zn 2+ and Cu 2+ was observed which indicates selectively senses of Zn 2+ and Cu 2+ . This sensor displays 2:1 stoichiometric ratio with metal ions by 1 H NMR titration, mass spectra and Job's plot. Moreover, the recyclability of HL was assessed through EDTA showing an efficient fluorescence “off‐on‐off” signal response. Furthermore, the (HL‐Zn 2+ ) ensemble formed was used for selective recognize MnO 4 − . HL achieved an INHIBIT logic function using different inputs and corresponding emission as output. The optimized structures of HL and complexes (HL‐Zn 2+ and HL‐Cu 2+ ) were used to understand spectral properties using DFT which further calculated different reactivity descriptors such as chemical hardness, chemical potential and electrophilicity index. This selective sensitivity of HL towards Zn 2+ were successfully studied and used for detection of Zn 2+ intracellularly in mouse breast adenocarcinoma cell.
Devi et al. (Sun,) studied this question.