An Imidazo[1,5-α]Pyridine-Based Fluorometric Chemodosimeter for the Highly Selective Detection of Hypochlorite in Aqueous Media

A new fluorometric chemodosimeter 2-amino-3-((( E )-3-(1-phenylimidazo[1,5-α]pyridin-3-yl)benzylidene)amino)maleonitrile ( BPI-MAL ) has been designed and synthesized for sensing hypochlorite. BPI-MAL showed a selective turn-on fluorescence for ClO − through hypochlorite-promoted de-diaminomaleonitrile reaction. It also could detect ClO − in the presence of various competitive anions including reactive oxygen species. Interestingly, sensor BPI-MAL was successfully applied as a fluorescent test kit for ClO − determination. The sensing property and mechanism of BPI-MAL toward ClO − were studied by fluorescence and UV-vis spectroscopy, NMR titration and DFT calculations.