Herein, a novel blue aggregation-induced enhanced emission
(AIEE)
material 4-N-(naphthalen-l-yl)-3,5-bis(4-N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine)phenyl-4H-1,2,4-triazole
(NDTAZ) is developed and used as a fluorescent chemosensor
for sulfur mustard (SM) simulant 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (2-CEES)
vapor. The NDTAZ chemosensor is designed by introducing
an electron-donating N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine group
at 3 and 5 position of 4H-1,2,4-triazole (TAZ) to
enhance the nucleophilicity of the TAZ group, and a naphthalene ring
is connected to 4 position of the TAZ group to construct an AIEE molecule.
The NDTAZ films show extraordinary stability and then
are further used as reliable and portable fluorescent chemosensors.
Upon exposure to 2-CEES vapor, the NDTAZ chemosensor
exhibits an instantaneous fluorescence response (not more than 1 s).
What should be noted is that this fluorescent chemosensor realizes
the visualized detection of fluorescent color change from blue to
green at “room temperature”, which is rarely reported.
The limit of detection is estimated to be 0.55 ppm, which is below
the AEGL-1 (0.6 ppm for 1 min) safety ceiling level to SM exposure.
Moreover, the NDTAZ chemosensor shows high selectivity
toward 2-CEES vapor over closely related substances, including alkylating
agents, aryl halide compounds, sulphur-containing compounds, and nerve
agent mimics. More impressively, the NDTAZ chemosensor
demonstrates good recyclability by water treatment. Also, the sensing
mechanism is adequately proved by using multiple experimental methods
and theoretical calculation. In addition, the NDTAZ-based
facile filter paper-constructed test strips are fabricated for real-time
and on-spot detection of leaked 2-CEES gas specifically. Therefore,
this fluorescent chemosensor with excellent sensing performance greatly
advances the practical detection of SM species at room temperature.