Anthraldehyde-based aggregation induced emissive probe for hydroxylamine detection and latent fingerprint imaging

[Display omitted] •AIE behaviour of AnCHO was comprehensively investigated.•Morphological and fluorescence properties of aggregates were systematically examined.•The higher selectivity of probe towards HA with the detection limit of 541 nM was demonstrated.•Level 3 features of LFP image were clearly visualized using the fluorescent aggregates. Herein, the aggregation induced emissive characteristics of 9-anthraldehyde is investigated for selective detection of hydroxylamine in real water samples. Morphology of the aggregates was characterized using pivotal microscopic techniques and photophysical properties were investigated using steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques. The aggregates exhibited spherical shaped particles with the size of ∼3 nm. The fluorescence of 9-anthraldehyde is generally weak in solution due to n-π* transition. Interestingly, the fluorescence intensity was seen to have 240 folds enhancement in THF:water (10:90) mixture. The observed fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime of aggregates were 2 % and 1.7 ns, respectively. The interaction of probe with hydroxylamine has been comprehensively examined by using 1H NMR analysis, UV–Vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. Intriguingly, the aggregates of 9-anthraldehyde exhibited a lower detection limit of 541 nM. In addition, the fluorescent nanoaggregates were successfully employed for visualizing the level 3 features of latent fingerprint via conventional powder dusting method.