A novel dual-channel chemosensor for CN- based on rhodamine B hydrazide derivatives and its application in bitter almond

In this article, we successfully designed and synthesized a novel chemosensor PW bearing rhodamine B hydrazide and 8-formyl-7-hydroxyl-4-methylcoumarin, which displayed both colorimetric and turn-on fluorescence responses for CN- in DMSO/H2O (1 : 1, v/v, pH = 7.20) solution. The probe could distinguish CN- via a deprotonation process and the mechanism of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), which was proved by H-1 NMR titration, ESI-MS and DFT calculations. The detection limit of the sensor PW towards CN- was 1.592 x 10(-7) M. Moreover, the sensor PW was successfully utilized to detect CN- in bitter almond. Test strips containing PW were also prepared, which could act as a colorimetric tool to detect CN- in practical application.