An amino-substituted 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole for the fluorescent detection of phosgene based on an ESIPT mechanism

In this work, an ESIPT-based fluorescence probe, 5'-amino-2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole (P1), was synthesized and explored for the ratiometric detection of phosgene. Compared to 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole (HBI), P1 exhibits high sensitivity (LoD = 5.3 nM) and selectivity toward phosgene with the introduction of the amine group. Furthermore, simple P1 loaded test papers are manufactured and display selective fluorescent detection of phosgene in the gas phase.