Fluoranthene-based pyridine as fluorescent chemosensor for Fe3+

A fluoranthene based fluorescent chemosensor 2-(7,10-diphenyl-fluoranthen-8-yl)-pyridine (B) which shows excellent selectivity towards Fe3+ is described. Upon addition of FeCl3 into the ethanol solution of B, it exhibits a great decrease of emission intensity against environmental and biological samples. Further experiments demonstrate that Fe(NO3)3 has the similar influence as FeCl3 on the emission spectra of B while Fe2(SO4)3 has no influence on that of B.