Ferrocene-BODIPY Push-Pull dyad: A common platform for the sensing of Hg2+ and Cr3+

A new donor-acceptor dyad built on the BODIPY platform bearing a ferrocene donor unit acts as a dual mode, turn-on fluorogenic chemosensor for Hg2+ and chemodosimeter for Cr3+ ions. The off state of the dyad is proposed to be a result of photoinduced electron transfer rather than the molecular rotor property of the dyad. The molecular rotor property of the dyad is ruled out by recording the fluorescence changes in solvents of variant viscosities. The detection of Hg2+ proceeds via aggregation induced enhanced emission, while that of Cr3+ via metal triggered hydrolysis of imine functionality of the dyad. The sensing protocols are established by various spectroscopic/electrochemical/DFT studies. (c) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.