Pyrene hydrazone-CTAB fluorescent probe

Distinguishes Th & U in water

A single probe sequentially detects Th⁴⁺ and UO₂²⁺ in pure water via green fluorescence for thorium and a turn-off response for uranium, with high immunity to lanthanide interferences.

Jing, Zhou · Liang, Hua · Guo, Zhicheng · Tian, Qiang · Baihua, Chen · Almásy, László

Journal of Molecular Liquids 2026

Specifications

Detection limit for Th4+

{'zh': '60.2', 'en': '60.2'} nM

Applications

• Radionuclide monitoring：Detect Th and U directly in pure water, skipping organic solvents and pretreatment.
• Environmental water analysis：Immune to lanthanides, suitable for rapid screening of complex waters near mining areas.
• Fluorescence sensing：Exploits excimer fluorescence for sequential turn-on/turn-off recognition of two targets.