A novel 2-(2′-aminophenyl)benzothiazole derivative displays ESIPT and permits selective detection of Zn2+ ions: experimental and theoretical studiesElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6ra09713h

Synthesis of a novel 2-(2′-aminophenyl)benzothiazole based probe ( 1 ) and demonstration of excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) with a large Stokes shift (∼246 nm) are presented. Selective interactions of probe 1 with DMSO and Zn 2+ result in the inhibition of ESIPT operating in 1 . Inhibition of ESIPT by only Zn 2+ and not by other common metal ions permits the selective detection of Zn 2+ at concentrations as low as 4.5 × 10 −9 M in aqueous medium. Synthesis of a novel 2-(2′-aminophenyl)benzothiazole based probe ( 1 ) and demonstration of excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) with a large Stokes shift (∼246 nm) are presented.