Quinoxaline-based double responsive fluorescent probe: An effective tool for detection of aniline and p-nitroaniline in the environment

Aniline and p-nitroaniline, as crucial intermediates in organic synthesis, find extensive applications in the fields of medicine, pesticides, and beyond. However, due to their significant toxicity and carcinogenic potential, these compounds pose severe risks to both ecological environments and human health. In this work, a novel fluorescent probe PAMD for the detection of aniline and p-nitroaniline was constructed and synthesized from camphorquinone. The excitation wavelength for PAMD detection is 380 nm, and the emission wavelength is 570 nm. The probe can rapidly respond to aniline within 8 min with a ratiometric fluorescence response (from 570 nm to 460 nm) and the low detection limit (0.3 μM). This probe also showed a rapid quenching response to p-nitroaniline within 1 min with excellent sensitivity (LOD = 60 nM). Therefore, PAMD could be used for detecting aniline and p-nitroaniline content in environment. Moreover, PAMD could be materialized to detect aniline and p-nitroaniline in water and gas phases.