Ultraselective fluorescent sensing of Hg2+ through metal coordination-induced molecular aggregation.

A new type of fluorescent sensor has been developed from a perylene based molecule, N,N'-dideoxythymidine-3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylic diimide (TT-PTCDI); the strong, highly selective binding between the thymine ligand (T) and Hg2+ ion enables efficient sensing of mercury ions based on a fluorescence quenching mechanism, which is primarily caused by metal-coordination induced molecular aggregation.