A Sc–3-HF complex as a fluorescent chemosensor for the selective detection of dihydrogen phosphate

A method that uses a Sc–3-HF complex as a fluorescent chemosensor for the detection of dihydrogen phosphate ions has been developed. The Sc–3-HF complex exhibits excellent selectivity and sensitivity towards dihydrogen phosphate ions. The binding properties of the Sc–3-HF complex towards various anions are evaluated by fluorescence spectroscopic method. The results demonstrate that the Sc–3-HF complex can effectively distinguish H2PO4− from HSO4−, HPO42− and PO43−. These results of fluorescence reversibility experiments show that the Sc–3-HF complex can serve as a relay probe to detect dihydrogen phosphate ions with high selectivity and sensitivity in CH3CN–H2O (1 : 4, v/v) solution.