A Simple but Effective Fluorescent Probe for the Detection of 4-Methylthiophenol

In this paper, a fluorescent probe (QFR) for the detective work of 4-methylthiophenol was successfully synthesized with a simple but highly effective probe structure. In the buffer solution (V(ACN): V(PBS) = 3:7), by observing the response of the probe after the fluorescence was turned on, we concluded that the probe had good characteristics such as high selectivity, low detection limit (116 nM), and fast response speed (20 min). In addition, the probe was a rare fluorescent probe that detected 4-methylthiophenol but did not respond to thiophenol. Fluorescence intensity was linearly related to 4-methylthiophenol concentration in the range of 0 to 2 equivalents (0–10 μM). The probe demonstrated good results in the determination of the recovery rate (92.28% to 110.1%) of actual water samples, and has great potential in environmental monitoring. Graphical abstract