Dynamic Coordination between a Triphenylamine-Functionalized Salicylaldehyde Schiff Base and a Copper(II) Ion

The coordination between a ligand and a metal is a spontaneous and uncontrollable process. In this Article, we successfully observe the formation of metal coordination in a triphenylamine-functionalized salicylaldehyde Schiff base with a copper(II) ion. The ligand TPA-Py first reacts with Cu2+ in a stepwise process to afford the dynamic complex TPA-Py@Cu2+ ([ligand]:[Cu2+] = 1:1), which further reacts with an extra copper(II) ion to afford 2TPA-Py@4Cu2+ with the following stepwise (or cumulative) stability constants: K1 = 4.0694 × 103 and K2 = 1.0761 × 106, respectively. The entire metal coordination process can be visualized, and the coordination mode of the probe toward copper was further evaluated by ultraviolet–visible/fluorescence spectra, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, density functional theory calculations, high-resolution mass spectra, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic titrations. Compound TPA-Py exhibited excellent sensitivity and specificity toward copper(II) ions in THF/water media with a low limit of detection of 2.687 × 10–7 mol L–1. In addition, TPI-An-Py can be applied to the detection of Cu2+ in real samples with satisfactory recoveries in the range of 100–112% in lake water and 98–101% in tap water. This Article not only reports an excellent fluorescence probe for copper(II) ion detection but also presents an instance for more fully understanding the metal coordination process.