Fluorescent detection of nitroaromatics and 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane (DMNB) by a zinc complex: (salophen)Zn

Fluorescent sensors for the detection of chemical explosives are in great demand. It is shown herein that the fluorescence of ZnL* (H₂L = N,N′-phenylene-bis-(3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylideneimine)) is quenched in solution by nitroaromatics and 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane (DMNB), chemical signatures of explosives. The relationship between the structure and fluorescence of ZnL is explored, and crystal structures of three forms of ZnL(base), (base = ethanol, tetrahydrofuran, pyridine) are reported, with the base = ethanol structure exhibiting a four-centered hydrogen bonding array. Solution structures are monitored by ¹H NMR and molecular weight determination, revealing a dimeric structure in poor donor solvents which converts to a monomeric structure in the presence of good donor solvents or added Lewis bases to form five-coordinate ZnL(base). Fluorescence wavelengths and quantum yields in solution are nearly insensitive to monomer-dimer interconversion, as well as to the identity of the Lewis base; in contrast, the emission wavelength in the solid state varies for different ZnL(base) due to π-stacking. Nitroaromatics and DMNB are moderately efficient quenchers of ZnL*, with Stem-Volmer constants K_SV = 2-49 M^-1 in acetonitrile solution.