Hydrazine appended self assembled benzoin-naphthalene conjugate as an efficient dual channel probe for Cu2+ and F−: a spectroscopic investigation with live cell imaging for Cu2+ and practical performance for fluoride

Abstract We report the synthesis of a novel hydrazine based compound 1-[(2-Hydroxy-1, 2-diphenyl-ethyl)-hydrazonomethyl]-naphthalen-2-ol ( 2 ). Compound 2 is the first report of its kind. We utilized the aforesaid compound to detect Cu 2+ and F − via emission enhancement and naked eye color change. The structural intricacies of 2 have been explored by its crytal structure. The mechanism of binding of 2 with F − has been established by 1 H NMR titration. The limit of detection for Cu 2+ and F − is ∼9.0 × 10 −7 (M) and 1.0 × 10 −6 (M), respectively. The practical performance of 2 is demonstrated by successful live cell imaging of Cu 2+ and detection of F − in toothpaste.