Exploration of selective recognition of iodide with dipodal sensor: 2,2′-[ethane-1,2-diylbis(iminoethane-1,1-diyl)]diphenol

A dipodal fluorescent receptor, 2,2′-[ethane-1,2-diylbis(iminoethane-1,1-diyl)]diphenol (2), with amine and hydroxyl moieties as binding sites has been synthesised and characterized with spectroscopic methods and single crystal X-ray techniques. The recognition of the anions with receptor 2 was studied using UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. The 1H-NMR spectroscopic and DFT studies revealed the distinct recognition of I− ions over the other surveyed anions.