A New Fluorescent Sensor for Fe ³⁺ Based on Glycoluril Molecular Clip

The application of fluorescent method to metal ions detection features high sensitivity, simple operation and real‐time monitoring. A 2,7‐dihydroxynaphthalene‐functionalized dimethyl glycoluril (called clip 1 ) was synthesized, using a relatively simple method. And it is fully characterized by 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, HR‐MS and single crystal X‐ray diffraction. The recognition properties of molecular clip 1 were analyzed systematically toward several metal ions using fluorescence spectroscopy, and it was found that molecular clip 1 is selective and sensitive to Fe 3+ . At the same time, the clip 1 shows good anti‐interference ability when other metal ions existed. The limit detection of Fe 3+ is 3×10 −7 M. The fluorescence of clip 1 was quenched apparently by Fe 3+ , which was speculated to be caused by ligand–metal charge transfer mechanism (LMCT). As a new fluorescence probe for Fe 3+ ion, it may expanded the application of glycoluril molecular clips.