A benzothiazole dye bearing a long alkyl chain (BTA-12) was synthesized and used as chemosensor to detect Zn2+.
In presence of Zn2+, due to the formation of coordination complex and further aggregation, the fluorescence of BTA-12 was significantly enhanced.
This chemosensor shows a very good selectivity to Zn2+ and a detection limit as low as 7.5 × 10−7 mol L−1.