Premium
Naked Eye and Colorimetric Detection of Cyanide with a 1,3‐Diethyl‐2‐thiobarbituric Acid Substituted Ferrocene Chemosensor
Author(s) -
Babu Balaji,
Mack John,
Nyokong Tebello
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
chemistryselect
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 34
ISSN - 2365-6549
DOI - 10.1002/slct.202100163
Subject(s) - naked eye , ferrocene , chemistry , moiety , photochemistry , cyanide , thiobarbituric acid , electrophile , detection limit , nucleophile , selectivity , inorganic chemistry , organic chemistry , electrochemistry , chromatography , catalysis , antioxidant , electrode , lipid peroxidation
A 1,3‐diethyl‐2‐thiobarbituric‐acid‐substituted ferrocene ( FET ) has been evaluated for its cyanide sensing ability by UV‐visible absorption spectroscopy and other characterization methods. FET provides a ratiometric colorimetric chemosensor for the CN − anion detection in 1 : 1 DMSO/H 2 O ( v/v ) solution. The addition of CN − results in an immediate color change from dark blue to pale orange that is visible to the naked eye. Mechanism studies and molecular modelling with TD‐DFT calculations demonstrate that nucleophilic addition of CN − to an electrophilic sp 2 ‐hybridized carbon atom blocks charge transfer from the ferrocene ring complex to the thiobarbituric acid moiety. The FET sensor exhibits excellent selectivity for CN − and a limit of detection of 0.2 μM.