A bifunctional rhodamine derivative as chemosensor for recognizing Cu^2+ and Hg^2+ ions via different spectra

A new simple bifunctional chemosensor 1 based on rhodamine was synthesized by hydrazide and formylformic acid,which could detect Cu^2+and Hg^2+via dif ferent detecting methods in CH3 CN-HEPES buffer solution(20 mmol/L,pH 7.4)(1:9,v/v)respectively.When sensor 1 bound with Cu^2+,it showed a colorimetric change,while a selective enhancement in fluorescence occurred upon 1 binding with Hg^2+,resulting from the spirolatam-ring opening process.The binding modes of 1 with Cu^2+and Hg^2+were investigated based on UV,fluorescence change,ESI-Mass and Job’s Plot data.Moreover,sensor 1 could selectively detect target ion in a mixed solution of Cu^2+and Hg^2+,and the two metal ions do not inte rfere with each other in the process of detecting Cu^2+or Hg^2+with 1.