Novel highly efficient fluoroionophores with a peri-effect and strong electron-donating receptors: TICT-promoted PET and signaling response to transition metal cations with low background emission

Novel fluoroionophores with piperazine frameworks as receptors for transition metal cations have been designed with the aid of calculation and synthesized. They exhibited low background emission and highly efficient fluorescence enhancements upon complexation with different transition metal cations, which could be ascribed to the special contribution of the TICT-promoted PET processes caused by the peri-effect and strong electron-donating receptors.