Abstract
•Development of new HL chemosensor for setection of Fe3+.•The HL chemosensor exhibited excellent selectivity and sensitivity for Fe3+ions.•The LOD and binding constant were found to be 3 µM and 1.8 × 103 M−1, respectively.•The HL was successfully applied for the detection of Fe3+ion in real samples.
This paper reports the development of new iron chemosensor, 2-(5-sulfanyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl) phenol (HL). The structural properties of HL were confirmed by FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and ESI–MS techniques. The sensor was applied for detection of various metal ions in DMF/H2O (1:9 v/v) medium. The results revealed an instant color change of Fe3+ solution from yellow to black. However, white and light brown precipitates were observed in the case of Pb2+, Hg2+ and Cu2+, respectively, whereas no optical response for the other cations were detected. Beside its high selectivity for Fe3+, no interference from other co-existed ions was seen. Moreover, the detection limit (LOD) of 3 µM, which is less than the acceptable value of the Fe3+ from WHO in environment, was observed. The interaction between Fe3+ ions and HL sensor using Job's plot analysis was found to be a 1:1 binding stoichiometry with a binding constant of 1.8 × 103 M−1 as calculated using Benesi–Hilderbrand equation. The advantage of HL in propping of Fe3+in real environmental samples were also tested which revealed its practical applicability as an effective chemosensor.
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