Fine tuning of a solvatochromic fluorophore for selective determination of Fe3+: a new type of benzimidazole-based anthracene-coupled receptor

We synthesized a novel benzimidazole-based, anthracene-coupled fluorescent receptor capable of recognizing and estimating the concentrations of Fe3+ in semi-aqueous solution by ratiometric estimation. Our sensor can be made highly selective for Fe3+ over other metal ions by changing the solvent composition.