A sensitive and selective “turn-on” fluorescent probe for Hg2+ based on thymine–Hg2+–thymine complex with an aggregation-induced emission feature

A fluorescent turn-on approach for the sensitive and selective sensing of Hg2+ based on an aggregation-induced emission fluorescent molecule (DSA-T2) containing 9,10-distyrylanthracene as a fluorophore and thymine as a Hg2+ receptor, was developed. Under optimum conditions, a linear relationship (R2 = 0.9894) was obtained between the fluorescent intensity and the concentration of Hg2+ from 7 × 10−7 mol L−1 to 1 × 10−5 mol L−1. The theoretical detection limit of Hg2+ was evaluated to be 3.4 × 10−7 mol L−1. And the selectivity towards Hg2+ was good compared to other metal ions.