Bispyrenylalkane Chemosensor for the Naked-eye Detection of Nitro-explosives

Pyrene-based compounds have a great potential as fluorescent chemosensors for various analytes including common nitro-explosives, such 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). Compounds having two pyrene units in one molecule, bispyrenylalkanes, are able to form stable, bright emissive visual wavelength region excimers both non-polar and polar environments. In this work we wish report that solvents the excimer has poor chemosensing properties while aqueous solutions it provides significant “turn-off” fluorescence response TNT sub-nanomolar concentrations.