A simple Schiff-base receptor 1 was prepared. It exhibits an "off-on-type" mode with high sensitivity in the presence of Al3+. The receptor 1 exhibited a high association constant with submicromolar detection for Al3+ in EtOH-H2O (95:5 v/v) solution. The addition of EDTA quenches the fluorescence of receptor 1 center dot Al3+ complex offering receptor 1 as a reversible chemosensor. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.