A new rhodamine-based dual chemosensor for Al3+ and Cu2+

A new rhodamine B derivative bearing a hydrazone group has been designed and prepared. The synthesized colorimetric and fluorescent molecular chemosensor can be used as a dual probe, selectively detecting Al3+ and Cu2+ in acetonitrile solution by monitoring changes in the absorption and fluorescence spectral patterns. The results show that Al3+ ions can induce a greater fluorescence enhancement, while the addition of Cu2+ ions induces a strong UV–vis absorption enhancement with weak fluorescence. The limits of detection of Cu2+ and Al3+ were estimated to be 2.9 × 10−7 M and 8.3 × 10−9 M, respectively.