Luminescent properties and logic nature of a crown Schiff base responding to sodium ion and zinc ion

An N-salicylidenaniline (SA), compound 1 with 15-crown-5 moiety, was synthesized. Coordinations with Na+ or/and Zn2+ induced obvious changes in fluorescence spectra. When the solvent changed from ethanol to acetonitrile, compound 1 and its complexes exhibited noticeable fluorosolvatochromism. However, the spectral changes all could express the AND logic function in these two solvents. The changes in fluorescence spectra were interpreted as photoinduced electron transfer (PET) and charge transfer transition (CT) mechanisms.