Click Chemistry Approach to Fluorescence-Based Polybinaphthyls Incorporating a Triazole Moiety for Hg²+ Recognition

Optically active polybinaphthyls incorporating triazole moieties were obtained by polymerization of (R)-6,6′-dibutyl-3,3′-diethynyl-2,2′-bisoctoxy-1,1′-binaphthyl and 1,4-diazidobenzene through click reactions. This is the first example of click-generated polybinaphthyls. The responsive optical properties of the polymer upon addition of various metal ions were investigated by fluorescence and UV/Vis spectral studies. The results indicate that the triazole moiety is a receptor that shows excellent fluorescence response for Hg²+ recognition without interference from other metal ions.