The fluorescence of a mercury probe based on osthol

The ability of osthol (OST) to recognize mercury ions in aqueous solution was studied using fluorescence, UV–vis spectrophotometry, mass spectrometry, and (1)H NMR spectroscopy, and the recognition mechanism is discussed. The results showed that OST and Hg(2+) can form a complex with a stoichiometric ratio of 1:1. The binding constant was 1.552 × 10(5) L∙mol(−1), having a highly efficient and specific selectivity for Hg(2+). The fluorescence intensity of OST showed a good linear correlation with the Hg(2+) concentration (6.0 × 10(−5) to 24.0 × 10(−5) mol∙L(−1), R(2) = 0.9954), and the detection limit of the probe was 5.04 × 10(−8) mol∙L(−1), which can be used for the determination of Hg(2+) traces.