A novel selective fluorescent chemosensor for Fe3+ ions based on phthalonitrile dimer: Synthesis, analysis, and theoretical studies

Phenyl-4,4-di(3,6-dibutoxyphthalonitrile) (3) was synthesized by the reaction of 1,4-phenylenebisboronic acid (1) and 4-bromo-3,6-dibutoxyphthalonitrile (2), using Suzuki cross-coupling reaction. The newly synthesized compound (3) was characterized by FT-IR, MALDI-MS, ESI-MS, 1 H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and 13C-DEPT-135-NMR. The fluorescence property of phenyl-4,4-di(3,6- dibutoxyphthalonitrile) (3) towards various metal ions was investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy, and it was observed thatthe compound (3) displayed a significantly ‘turn-off’ response to Fe3+, which was referred to 1:2 complex formation between ligand (3) and Fe3+. The compound was also studied via density functional theory calculations revealing the interaction mechanism of the molecule with Fe3+ ions.