A highly selective fluorescent probe for Zn2+ based on a new photochromic diarylethene with a di-2-picolylamine unit

Abstract A new unsymmetrical photochromic diarylethene with a di-2-picolylamine unit was synthesized, and its structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The diarylethene exhibited favorable photochromism with remarkable fatigue resistance in both solution and the crystalline phase. The interaction between the di-2-picolylamine with Zn 2+ caused a notable change in its fluorescence intensity, accompanied by an evident color change from the black to bright blue upon addition of Zn 2+ . No obvious interference was observed by performing the titrations with other metal ions. The results revealed that the photochromic diarylethene could be used as a fluorescence probe for the recognition of Zn 2+ with high selectivity.