How to distinguish D2O and H2O
and determine
the trace H2O content in D2O solvent, by using
molecule-based spectral probes, is an intriguing topic in analytical
chemistry, yet considerably few examples remain up to now, likely
due to the very similar physical/chemical properties between D2O and H2O. In this work, we found that both the
hydrolysis reactions to release fluorescent amines and aggregation-induced
emission (AIE) of imines, functioning as dual fluorescence signals
to distinguish D2O and H2O, could be modulated
by changing the imine structures. The hydrophobicity of imines showed
an important contribution to the ability of modulating the hydrolysis
reactions and AIE, demonstrating a significant difference on fluorescence
signals in D2O and H2O solvents. Among all tested
imines, probe 3, condensed from 2-naphthylamine and salicylaldehyde,
was found to have the potential ability to act as an ideal candidate
for probing the H2O content in D2O solvent,
particularly in a low H2O content range, using the ratiomeric
emission signals.