A new fluorescent chemosensor for fluoride anion based on a pyrrole–isoxazole derivative

摘要

Molecules containing polarized NH fragments that behave as anion-binding motifs are widely used as receptors for recognition and sensing purposes in aprotic solvents. We present here a new example of a receptor, 3-amino-5-(4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-indol-2-yl)isoxazole-4-carboxamide (receptor 1), which contains pyrrole, amide and amino subunits. This receptor shows both changes in its UV–vis absorption and fluorescence emission spectra upon the addition of F?, resulting in highly selectivity for fluoride detection over other anions, such as Cl?, Br?, I?, HSO4?, H2PO4? and AcO? in CH3CN. 1H NMR titration, time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations and other experiments confirm that the sensing process is brought about by deprotonation of the pyrrole-NH in receptor 1.