“Turn-On” Fluorescent Probe for Mercury(II): High Selectivity and Sensitivity and New Design Approach by the Adjustment of the π-Bridge

By intelligent design, a new “turn-on” fluorescent probe (1-CN) was obtained based on the deprotection reaction of the dithioacetal promoted by Hg2+ ions, which could sense mercury ions sensitively and selectively, with the detection limit of 8 × 10–7 M. Thanks to the apparent turn-on signal, 1-CN has been successfully applied to rapidly detect trace amounts of mercury ions as test strips and cell image.