The Novel Poly(azomethine-urethane): Synthesis, Morphological Properties and Application as a Fluorescent Probe for Detection of Zn2+ Ions

In this paper reports synthesis of a new kind of Schiff base-polyurethane containing azomethine linkage and uses of this poly(azomethine-urethane) as fluorescence probe for determination of transition metal ions in aqueous medium. The spectroscopic behavior of poly(azomethine-urethane) toward metal ions has been investigated by the fluorescence method and photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of compounds were investigated in different polarity solvents including MeOH, tetrahydrofurane (THF) and dimethylformamide (DMF). PL measurements showed that both Schiff base and polymer have higher emission intensity and Stoke’s shift value (ΔλST) in THF solution than DMF and MeOH. The proposed sensor was found to show good selectivity to Zn2+ ion over other metal ions in THF/deionized water solution (1:2, v:v). Notably, the proposed sensor could clearly distinguish Zn2+ from Cd2+. Detection limit of the proposed sensor was also determined as 3.06 × 10−4 mol L−1.