Preparation and characterization of new PET-like sensors for nucleophiles
Written by Yulia Gerchikov
Yulia Gerchikov, Yoav Eichen
Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Israel Institute of Technology, Technion City 32000, Haifa Israel
Photoinduced electron-transfer (PET) signaling of a recognition process, Scheme 1, is a very elegant method for optically sensing electrophiles that was developed for reporting the presence of metal cations, protons and alkylating agents[1]. This approach was first proposed by Weller and later perfected by De Silva et al[2]. Nevertheless, the application of the PET concept to the detection of nucleophiles is rather limited because most nucleophiles tend to quench the excited state of the luminophore.
Here we report on a new concept, enabling the application of a “PET-like” concept for the detection of nucleophiles through luminescence regain. We report the preparation and characterization of new “PET-like” materials that dramatically increase their luminescence properties upon reacting with different nucleophiles both in solutions and in the gas phase.
[1]. S. Tal, H. Salman, Y. Abraham, M. Botoshansky, Y. Eichen, "Sensitive and Selective PET-Based Sensing of Alkylating Agents", Chem. Eur. J., 12, 4858-4864, 2006.