A designed aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) active fluorescence probe 2,3-Bis-[(2-hydroxy-napthalen-1-ylmethylene)-amino]-but-2-enedinitrile (L) was synthesized via one step condensation method. The probe shows swift sensitivity and selectivity toward Al 3+ over other relevant metal ions and also exhibits significant AIEE phenomena in methanol/water mixture. Significant enhancement of fluorescence intensity is triggered via chelation-enhanced fluorescence through complex (Al 3+ -L) formation. A 2:1 metal to ligand ratio is observed from Job's plot based on UV - Vis absorption titration and detection limit (LOD) is found as low as 31.14 nM. Moreover, 1H NMR titrations and fluorescence reversibility by adding Al 3+ and EDTA sequentially had been performed to establish the binding site of sensor complex (Al 3+ -L). Time-resolved photoluminescence, dynamic light scattering, optical microscopy, and on-site visualization studies have been performed to understand the AIEE mechanism of L in different volume percentage of water and methanol mixture. An INHIBIT molecular logic gate has been constructed utilizing the fluorescence behavior of the probe, L in presence of Al 3+ and strong chelating ligand EDTA.
(© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)