Hg2+-selective fluoroionophoric behavior of pyrene appended diazatetrathia-crown ether

Bis(pyrene) derivative of diazatetrathia-crown ether has been prepared and its Hg2+-selective fluoroionophoric properties were investigated. The compound showed a pronounced Hg2+-selectivity and other metal ions except for Cu2+ showed almost no discernible responses. The Hg2+-selectivity of the compound was also confirmed by the competitive experiments performed in the presence of physiologically important metal ions and the detection limit was found to be 1.6 × 10−6 M. The prominent selective and efficient fluorescence quenching behavior could be utilized as a new chemosensing system for the analysis of toxic Hg2+ ions in aqueous environment.