Highly effective chemosensor for mercury ions based on bispyrenyl derivative

A new bispyrenyl azadiene derivative has been synthesized and examined for its cation recognition abilities toward different cations. The ligand shows strong affinity for Hg(2+) ions over other cations such as Cu(2+), Pb(2+), Zn(2+), Ni(2+), Cd(2+), Ag(+), K(+), Na(+) and Li(+). An "Off-On" type of fluorescent behaviour was observed with simultaneous presence of Cu(2+) and Hg(2+) ions. An ion selective electrode (ISE) is also formed which showed excellent selectivity to Hg(2+) over all the other cations tested. The lower limit of detection is 7.08 x 10(-6) M.