A ferrocene‐pyrene dyad for multiple channel sensing of F− and H2PO4−

A new ferrocene‐pyrene dyad Fc‐PYS for anion recognition was rationally designed and synthesized, in which the ferrocene and the pyrene groups were combined by the imidazolium and sulfonamide anion donors. The structure of the probe was characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. The anion recognition performance of the probe was studied by fluorescence spectroscopy and electrochemical techniques. In acetonitrile solution, Fc‐PYS can fluorescently recognize F − and H 2 PO 4 − with different models. Upon the addition of H 2 PO 4 − , the fluorescence of Fc‐PYS was increased. However, the complexation with F − quenched its fluorescence. At the same time, Fc‐PYS showed electrochemical response toward basic anions F − , H 2 PO 4 − , and AcO − with the ferrocene‐based red/ox potential a negative shift with H 2 PO 4 − > F − > AcO − . Furthermore, the binding mechanism between Fc‐PYS and anion has been investigated in detail by 1 H NMR titration.