Here, we described a cheap and effective chemosensor
(NHPyTSC)
that can distinguish Hg2+ and Zn2+ ions from
other metal ions and evaluated this phenomenon using several spectroscopy
techniques. With the addition of mercury and zinc ions, the proposed
chemosensor in particular showed noticeable changes in color and absorption
spectra. Additionally, by including EDTA in the NHPyTSC-Hg2+ and NHPyTSC-Zn2+ solutions, colorimetry readings can
be reversed. We developed a molecular-scale sequential information
processing circuit and presented the “writing–reading–erasing–reading”
and “multiwrite” behaviors in the form of binary logic
based on the great reversibility of this process. Moreover, by sequentially
adding Hg2+, Zn2+, and EDTA, NHPyTSC imitates
a molecular keypad lock and molecular logic gates. Density functional
theory (DFT) investigations provided more evidence of the Hg2+ and Zn2+ ions′ ability to attach to NHPyTSC. The
most interesting part of this work is that a study on the latent fingerprint
detection of the powder compound revealed that NHPyTSC exhibits good
adherence and finger ridge features without background stains. When
compared to black and white fingerprint powders, it is discovered
that the NHPyTSC powder produces results that are remarkably clear
on the majority of surfaces. This demonstrated their potential for
real-world use, particularly in the area of criminal investigations.