Preparation and characterization of novel Yellow-Green fluorescent polymerizable dye and its copolymer with application of highly selective sensor for cations iron

Purpose In this work, A new 4–(2-aminoethylene) amino-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1,8-naphthalimide with intense green fluorescent was synthesized. This low molecular weight compound was immobilized by forming a covalent-bond with an acrylonitrile polymer containing carboxylic acid groups. The new prepared dye and self-coloured polymer were characterized by analytical techniques. Design/methodology/approach The synthesized compounds were characterized by TLC, DSC, FTIR, 1HNMR, 13CNMR, GPC, UV–visible and Fluorometery. The photophysical characteristics of the dye and polymer containing naphthalimide moiety in the side chain, were measured both in the absence and in the presence of Ag+, Cd+2, Co+2, Cr+3, Cu+2, Fe+3, Hg+2, Ni+2, Pb+2 and Zn+2 cations. Findings The results showed that the characterization of the synthesized dye and its polymer verified their structural correctness. It is shown that dye and polymer are photo-induced electron transfer (PET) fluorescent sensors which exhibit fluorescence quenching in the presence of metal ions. Among the various metal ions, both dye and polymer are more sensitive to Fe+3 cations. Originality/value This study is original. A 4–(2-aminoethylene) amino-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1,8-naphthalimide and its self-coloured polymer were synthesized for the first time, successfully.