New cyano functionalized silanes: Synthesis, characterization and diphenylamine detection

A series of novel tetrahedral silicon-centered cyano functionalized silanes, bis(4-cyanodiphenyl)dimethylsilane (1), bis(4-cyanodiphenyl)diphenylsilane (2), tri(4-cyandiphenyl)methylsilane (3), tri(4-cyandiphenyl)phenylsilane (4), and tetra(4-cyandiphenyl) silane (5), have been synthesized by Suzuki coupling reactions. They all display high thermal stability, and are fluorescent with strong emission in the region of violet to blue. Furthermore, 1–5 all exhibited the linear fluorescent quenching response to diphenylamine (DPA) with the high binding constants up to 1.0 × 106 M−1 in dichloromethane solution, demonstrating the potential application in DPA detection.