Colorimetric and turn-on Fluorescence Chemosensor for Hg Ion Detection in Aqueous Media.

A new rhodamine 6G based fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensor, containing N-methyl imidazole nucleus, for the selective detection of Hg ion was designed and synthesized. The results of UV-Vis and fluorescence spectral study indicated that the receptor is selective and sensitive towards Hg with no noticeable interference with other competitive metal ions. The addition of Hg to the receptor induced a rapid color change to pink from colorless and the turn-on fluorescence response toward Hg among different cations was studied.