Fluorescent Probes for Pd²⁺ Detection by Allylidene–Hydrazone Ligands with Excellent Selectivity and Large Fluorescence Enhancement

Because palladium is widely used in various catalysts and converters, which results in a high level of contamination of water systems and the soil by residual palladium, there is an urgent need for Pd(2+)-sensitive and -selective probes. Based on the special affinity of Pd(2+) to conjugated double-bond ligands, two fluorescence probes (RPd2 and RPd3) that contain conjugated allylidene-hydrazone ligands that link to colorless rhodamine-spirolactam have been developed. The results show that conjugated allylidene-hydrazones have a much better affinity toward Pd(2+), and consequently provide the probes with more acute color change and fluorescence enhancement (≈170-fold), and better selectivity over other metal ions (especially platinum-group elements, or PGEs) than the unconjugated allyl-hydrazine. With richer electron density and a more suitable stereo effect in the allylidene-hydrazone group, RPd2 displays the best specificity toward Pd(2+) and affords convenient detection by the naked eye. Its potential application for Pd(2+)-contaminated water and soil-sample analysis is revealed by proof-of-concept experiments.