A novel dual-function probe for fluorescent turn-on recognition and differentiation of Al3+ and Ga3+ and its application.

In this study, a novel dual-function probe BMP based on benzothiazole was easily synthesized and characterized through common optical technique. In the system consisting of DMF/H2O (v/v, 2/3), probe BMP showed azure and blue-green to Al3+ and Ga3+, respectively. Besides, the binding ratios of BMP to Al3+ and Ga3+ were determined as 1:1, which confirmed by Job's plot. Furthermore, for Al3+ and Ga3+, the limit of detection (LOD) was determined to be 1.51 × 10-6 M and 4.28 × 10-6 M, respectively. Moreover, it was worth noting that BMP showed good performances in paper colorimetry, cell phone colorimetric identification and cell imaging.