A novel carbonothioate-based benzothiazole fluorescent probe for trace detection of mercury (II) in real water samples

Abstract In this study, a novel turn-on Hg2+ fluorescent probe (2-(1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl)-5-(N,N-diethylamino) phenol)-phenyl carbonothioate (PT) was designed and synthesized. The structure of fluorescent probe PT was characterized by spectral data and elemental analysis. The probe showed weak fluorescence without Hg2+ ion, and the color of the solution was colorless. Upon the addition of Hg2+ ion, the probe reacted specifically with Hg2+ to produce a strong fluorescence, and the color of solution turn to yellow, which can be directly inspect with the naked eye. The limit of detection of the probe PT for Hg2+ could reach 0.974 nM. Furthermore, the probe PT can work in a wide pH range and successfully applied in detection of Hg2+ in real water samples.