A new “turn-on” fluorescent sensor for highly selective sensing of H2PO4−

Abstract H 2 PO 4 − plays an indispensable role in chemical, biological and environment aspects. It is essential to detect H 2 PO 4 − sensitively. In this article, we designed and synthesized a novel sensor P-Fe based on naphthalimide. Hence, P-Fe can selectively and sensitively detect H 2 PO 4 − ion by means of “turn-on” detection. After adding H 2 PO 4 − , the P-Fe solution gives a strong bright yellow fluorescence. In addition, the corresponding detection limit of P-Fe to H 2 PO 4 − is estimated to be 1.897 × 10 − 7  mol/L.