A novel colorimetric sensor based on BODIPY-coumarin dye for simultaneous detection of cyanide and fluoride

Abstract A novel colorimetric and fluorescent sensor 6 for fluoride and cyanide was developed based on BODIPY-coumarin platform and its anions sensing properties were investigated in the mixture of acetonitrile and Tris–HCl buffer (v/v = 95:5, pH = 7.5). Probe 6 could simultaneously detect F – and CN – through colorimetric method over the other competitive anions, such as Cl – , Br – , I – , NO 3 – , ClO 4 – , HSO 4 – , S 2– and H 2 PO 4 – . It exhibited a distinct color change from red to green upon addition of F – through deprotection of tert -butyldiphenylsilyl group of coumarin. Moreover, it displayed an obvious color change from red to yellow through deprotection process firstly, then with a nucleophilic displacement mechanism. Therefore, the sensor 6 provides a novel method to simultaneously detect F − and CN − with different color change in the same solvent environment. The detection limit of sensor 6 toward F – and CN – ion was determined to be 0.43 μM and 1.9 μM respectively,