A thiophene-derived hexaazatriphenylene (HAT) fluorescent sensor for the selective detection of Ag+ ion

Abstract Herein, by symmetrically merging six thiophene units into the hexaazatriphenylene (HAT) core, a HAT based sensor (1) was designed and synthesized, which was found capable of exhibiting selective recognition of Ag+ with detection limit as low as 1.79 × 10-6 M in chloroform featuring with significant fluorescence “turn-off” property. Through the systematical investigation with UV-Vis absorption, fluorescence spectroscopy and the naked-eye experiments, as well as the 1H NMR titration and the Job’s plot, it was revealed that sensor 1 could complex with Ag+ in a stoichiometric ratio of 2:3. We envisage the construction of such thiophene-derived HAT molecule is conductive in exploring new type of Ag+ sensor, and it also will bring potential application in environmental detection.