Donor manipulation for constructing a pH sensing thermally activated delayed fluorescent probe to detect alkaliphiles

pH homeostasis is essential for alkaliphiles, given their widespread use in biotechnological applications. However, quantitative monitoring of alkaline pH in alkaliphiles remains challenging. Here, we synthesized for the first time, a thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) pH probe: NI-D-OH. Our probe exhibits a good linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and pH in the neutral to alkaline range (pH 7.0-8.6), as well as long-lived TADF emission. We further show that NI-D-OH can be used to monitor intracellular pH in living organisms, and evaluate the effect of Na+ on the pH homeostasis, demonstrating the potential for alkaline pH monitoring and time-resolved fluorescence imaging.