Synthesis of a dehydroabietyl derivative bearing a 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole unit and its selective Cu²+ chemosensing.

A dehydroabietyl derivative 2 bearing a 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole unit was synthesized and its sensing behaviors toward metal ions were investigated by UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy methods. In THF solution, compound 2 exhibited excellent selectivity for CuII over miscellaneous other metal ions including CrII, MnII, CoII, NiII, ZnII, CdII, AlIII, MgII, PbII, HgII, NaI, LiI and KI evidenced through the quenching of the fluorescence of the benzimidazole fragment. The reaction between 2 and Cu²+ was found to be stoichiometric with the formation of a 1:1 complex.