Ratiometric red aggregation-induced emission luminogens for hydrazine hydrate detection

Based on a deprotection reaction and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) mechanism induced by hydrazine hydrate, a fluorescent probe for the rapid recognition of hydrazine hydrate (N2H4·H2O) was designed. A simple one-step condensation reaction was employed to synthesize a series of novel aggregation-induced emission fluorescent probes with good sensitivity and selectivity for N2H4·H2O. The detection limits for N2H4·H2O using 1 to 3 were 1.51, 0.544 and 2.61 μM, respectively, at a probe concentration of 20.0 μM. Furthermore, probes 1–3 were able to detect N2H4·H2O in living cells and it was found that probes 1–3 could interact with N2H4·H2O to provide an effective tool for on-line monitoring. Moreover, probe 1 is capable of the imaging and tracing of N2H4·H2O in zebrafish.