A sugar-aza-crown ether-based fluorescent sensor for Hg2+ and Cu2+

A fluorescent sensor, 5, based upon the sugar-aza-crown ether structure with two anthracenetriazolymethyl groups was prepared and its fluoroionophoric properties toward transition metal ions were investigated. In methanol, the sensor exhibits highly selective recognition of Cu2+ and Hg2+ ions among a series of tested metal ions. The association constant for 5·Cu2+ and 5·Hg2+ in methanol was calculated to be 4.0 × 105 M−1 and 1.1 × 105 M−1, respectively. The detection limits for the sensing of Cu2+ and Hg2+ ions were 1.39 × 10−6 M and 1.39 × 10−5 M, respectively.