Arsenic, an element occurring naturally in the Earth’s crust and toxic in its inorganic forms, is a concerning contaminant in water supplies in some less-developed countries due to lack of centralized water testing and purification. While techniques for arsenic detection do exist, most require skilled analysts or toxic reagents making them inaccessible to those in less developed countries. Fluorescence sensing may be a promising route for arsenic detection due to the high-sensitivity and simplicity of technique. Lanthanide ions (Ln(III)) ions) have long-lived excited states and characteristic emission bands making them a possible route for fluorescence detection of metal ions. Here we present a new Ln(III) ion complex with promising applications for arsenic detection in aqueous solutions by exhibiting a ‘turn-off’ mechanism. We will describe the synthesis of a new ligand, pybox(thioether), and its lanthanide ion complexes [Ln(pybox(thioether)3)]NO3 (where Ln=Eu or Tb). The photophysical characterization, including quantum yield and lifetime studies will be presented, as well as the interaction of the complexes with arsenic.

Synthesis of luminescent lanthanide ion complexes for arsenic detection

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