Anion recognition through hydrogen bonding: a simple, yet highly sensitive, luminescent metal-complex receptor

A new luminescent rhenium(i) polypyridyl-based receptor for a variety of inorganic anions has been designed and synthesized and this artificial receptor shows high affinities for halides, cyanide and acetate anions with binding constants as high as 10(4)-10(5) M-1 and a detection limit as low as 10(-8) M in CH2Cl2 solution.