A new anthracenyl-appended ferrocene bearing the aniline N and thiourea S donors for metal ions recognition was prepared.
The sensor shows fluorescent and electrochemical sensing of Cu2+ and Hg2+ in CH3CN solution.
It only shows fluorescence turn-on response to Hg2+ in CH3CN–Tris (1:1, v/v) buffer solution.
1H NMR analysis and DFT calculations revealed the binding mode.