A highly selective HBT-based "turn-on" fluorescent probe for hydrazine detection and its application

Abstract As one of the important industrial chemicals, hydrazine (N 2 H 4 ) can be inhaled through the skin, leading to many serious health issues. In this paper, we constructed a novel turn-on fluorescent probe HBTM for N 2 H 4 detection based on ESIPT and ICT mechanism by incorporating the methyl dicyanvinyl group to 2-(2′-hydroxylphenyl) benzothiazole (HBT) fluorophore. The probe showed the following advantages: high sensitivity with detection limit of 2.9 × 10 −7  M, high selectivity over other related interfering species, wide linear range of 0–140 μM and pH value adaptation. Moreover, the probe could detect N 2 H 4 on paper strips and image N 2 H 4 in living cells.