Luminescent properties of N-salicylidene-3-aminopyridine and selective sensing behavior to Ba²⁺

Development of a selective and sensitive sensor for Ba²⁺ is currently of great importance because of the adverse effects of Ba²⁺ on the human body. In this study, we developed an excellent fluorescence chemosensor for Ba²⁺ based on 3AP (N-salicylidene-3-aminopyridine). A fluorescence spectrophotometer is utilized to investigate the sensing properties of 3AP, and the results indicate that 3AP shows sensitive and selective detection of Ba²⁺ through the enhancement of fluorescence intensity. The detection limit is determined to be 7.08×10^-7 mol/L. Background metal ions, such as Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Cs⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Fe³⁺, Fe²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, Al³⁺ and Ag⁺, exhibit small or no interference with the detection of Ba²⁺.