Highly sensitive and selective colorimetric/fluorescent probe with aggregation induced emission characteristics for multiple targets of copper, zinc and cyanide ions sensing and its practical application in water and food samples

A new simple and multi-responsive colorimetric and fluorescent probe with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristic has been designed and synthesized. The probe 1-(((3-(tert-buty1)-2-hydroxy-5-methylbenzylidene)hydrazono)methyl)- naphthalen-2-ol ADC showed turn-on fluorescent response to zinc and cyanide ions (Zn2+ and CN-) and fluorescence quenching behavior to copper ion (Cu2+), which induces obvious naked-eye color changes, respectively. Probe ADC exhibited superb selectivity and swift sensitivity for simultaneous detection of Cu2+ and Zn2+ ions with excellent anti interference capability over other common ions over a wide pH range (1-12). The probe ADC for Cu2+/Zn2+/CN- detection displayed fast response time (<= 40 s) and low detection limits of 1.6 x 10(-6), 1.3 x 10(-8) and 8.1 x 10(-7) M, respectively. The sensing mechanisms were confirmed by H-1 NMR titration, FT-IR spectrum, Job's plot analyses and TD-DFT theoretical calculations. Importantly, probe ADC could be used to detect and quantify Cu2+, Zn2+ and CN- in real water samples with a high precision and good accuracy. Moreover, the probe ADC was applied to the fast detection of CN- in bitter seeds, cassava, sprouting potato, revealing its great potential for practical applications in our daily life and health science. Importantly, this work provides a simple and effective approach with economically cheap and less complicated synthetic route for selective, sensitive and quantitative detection of multiple targets of Zn2+, Cu2+ and CN- ions in the environment and health systems. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.